Every Band has its Breakup
by Falconess
Summary: A Sonic Underground story. The triplets are exhausted from freedom fighting when Robotnik's new plan shatters their friendship. Will they be able to come together or is this break-up their last?
1. Interrupted

**"Every Band has its Breakup"**

_A Sonic Underground Story_

_Written By: J. M. Rich_

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_My children have been working so hard to kindle hope in others that their own lights are fading. And so very often when we are hurting, we hurt the ones we love as well..._

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**Chapter One: Interrupted**

The monthly rave of the planet's most famous underground band had just begun and already the sound-proofed, triple-thick walls of the abandoned bomb shelter were thumping and nearly swaying along to the sweet sounds of the Underground. The Sonic Underground.

Manic the Hedgehog was laying down a fierce drum line that seemed to pulsate out from his set, reverberating in the hearts of all the dancers out on the floor, the seated audience enjoying their drinks, and especially the people gathered near the lip of the thrust stage, watching every move.

Sonia the Hedgehog's male admirers were gathered at the bar at the back, watching with great interest as her fingers flew nearly liquidly along her keyboard, releasing wafts of soft, low, purple smoke falling out of it and blanketing the floor in a mist. One of them watched with just a bit too much interest, the corners of his mouth streaked with drool, staring through tiny violet spectacles at the most beautiful sight he would ever behold.

Her long-time fiancée, Bartleby, sat beside him, but had his back turned to the concert. He wouldn't have been able to tell you what was going on because he had two heavy-duty industrial strength earplugs crammed into his ears. It wasn't blocking the music by any means, but it did put it at a more comfortable level for him. He was sipping a glass of red wine, apparently enjoying the semi-silence by the smile on his face, although not the excruciating body odor of the man next to him, wrinkling his nose and scooching just a little more to the right. Sonic had promised to break his nose if he didn't come. He said it was the least he could do for his sister. Bartleby had supposed that was right, considering he had given away their last concert location. It was broken up by a SWATbot raid before they could even play the downbeat.

The well-polished surface of Sonic the Hedgehog's triple-axel guitar reflected the patterns of the crazy gobos on the swinging lights overhead, catching the colors and bouncing them all over the room. Although it was almost like there was a magical energy flowing through all of them on the stage. No one could say for sure, though those in the Resistance closest to them had claimed the musical instruments had some kind of great power.

Magical instruments? Yeah right, like anyone would believe that.

A casual observer had to admit though. The three of them had some kind of deep chemistry that showed in their music and how, if one of them should take another route in the number, the others would instinctively follow. It wasn't all about Sonic either, although he did enjoy standing in the spotlight and usually sung the strongest vocals in the group. For all of the rumors of him being selfish, he was quick to step back and let the spotlight fall on either of his siblings when the timing was right.

The music ended in a swift halt as Sonic put up a hand in signal to his siblings.

"C'mon, that's plenty for a warm-up - whaddya guys say we get this show on the road?" Sonic strummed, fingers sliding up and down the strings, squeezing them against the fret boards, producing a sweet chord that just whined out his impatience to begin. He smirked back at his brother and sister.

Sonia rolled her eyes slightly but nodded, flicking a switch on her keyboard and giving her fingers a stretch.

"Heh, you know I was born ready, bro!" Manic drummed up a rapid-fire drum roll that made at least two of girls in front of the stage faint from sheer awesomeness - or that is how they would have described it to you, had they been conscious enough to form complete words. He twirled his sticks in the air and then played the down beat.

"One! Two! A- One! Two! Three! FOUR!"

The crowd swelled so much at the new song, that it was hard to hear the music, but as Sonic stepped forward to sing while playing both the base and lead on his triple-necked guitar, they quieted slightly in anticipation. Most agreed though that almost certainly had to be magic, right? No one was that fast and could take on two lines at once and sing. It was scientifically impossible! But Sonic could. And he did. It was magical.

_It's been a  
__Long way down,  
__On this winding road (Always twisting!)  
__Turning us  
__Upside down!  
__Where's it lead?  
__No one knows! (Nothing's for certain!)  
__  
Keep on fightin' (Never lose the light!)  
__Cause life gets tough,  
__The path is rough,  
__But it's the Journey that you take,  
__The friends and choices that you make,  
__That's what matters most,  
__Not the destination!_

_Adventures happen  
__Every day,  
__On this winding road (Always turning!)  
__Sometimes we all  
__Make mistakes!  
__But learning from them  
__You can succeed! (They make you stronger!)  
__  
You'll be alright!  
__Just hang on tight!_

_Yeaaaah-yeah!  
__Nana-na-Na! (Nana-nana-na Na!)__  
Nana-na-Na! (Nana-nana-na Na!)  
Yeah-yeah Yeah!_

_Keep on fightin' (Never lose the light!)  
__Cause life gets tough,  
__The path is rough,  
__But it's the Journey that you take,  
__The friends and choices that you make,  
__That's what matters most,  
__Not the destination!_

_It's the Journey that you take  
__Not the destination!_

_It's the Journey that you take  
__Not the destination!_

_Adventures happen...  
__Along the way..._

Sonia ended beautifully and her brothers smirked at her, making her blush. She always took their compliments to heart, even if she didn't show it all the time. Seems their practice had again paid off; they could barely hear each other over the roaring of the crowd and sounds of them screaming, "One more time!"

Sure, some critics would probably describe their songs as "hokey" and "silly" but those critics don't have to live in Robotropolis everyday of their lives.

"One more time!"

"Whaddya think Underground, should we give it to them?"

The songs of the Sonic Underground were the pure hope that everyone needed to keep going. They were the only ones brave enough (though some would argue "stupid enough") to break the law and play music. They played all kinds, performing any and all requests, everything from Country to Rap, Classical and Hard Rock and everything in-between. They weren't professionally-trained musicians by any means, they just played what they knew and what their audience asked for. In this time of hardship, no one complained what was played, they were just happy to hear real music, any kind of music. Most of their audiences consisted of young people. Those older were too afraid - they had families to watch out for, they couldn't take the chances that the young could. They couldn't run as fast to get away.

"One more time!"

"Dunno bro, I can't hear anybody out there!"

The Sonic Underground stood for a world without the tyranny of Robotnik, who cleared out cities the way a bulldozer levels landscape, destroying homes and breaking apart families, taking away the very lives of the citizens by a process known as Roboticization - where they forever become the robotic slaves sworn to serve this obnoxious dictator. Everyone feared the Roboticizer, even the three hedgehogs themselves. You'd be foolish not to.

"ONE more TIME!"

"Sonic! If they scream any louder they'll bring the roof in on us!"

"I dunno, sis, I don't think I can hear them either!"

Ultimately, the Sonic Underground stands for a world where every voice is heard. Their "Council of Four" would see to that, if they could only find their mother, the rightful Queen, to complete it. Queen Aleena wisely understood the needs of all and is greatly missed by her subjects in the shadow of Robotnik's empire.

"ONE MORE TIME!"

"Alright, already! You win! Hit it sibs!" And with that, they played their new song again.

Even though these hedgehogs were her three triplets, princes and princess by birth, the three of them came from completely different classes in society: from Sonia's highest class, to Manic's lowest class and Sonic speaking for everyone inbetween. Together they would create a world where everyone could grow up without fearing for their life, where their next meal would come from, or how bills would get paid. A world where fun wasn't outlawed and music could be played in public concerts as loud as anyone wanted. It would be a world where life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness were held as the highest principles. I'm sure if you could have showed them our world, they would have been caught in a moment of awe and longing.

As they ended once more, the crowd again erupted. Bartleby had to dig in his earplugs a bit deeper. "Well, they certainly are gaining popularity," he said to himself, certain that his monologue would be lost in the noise. He took another sip of his wine. In his opinion the Resistance had at least stolen a good vintage from Robotnik's personal stock. The wine Robotnik sold to the aristocrats at such exorbitantly high prices could only be described as distilled swill.

"Sonia," a low voice crooned longingly. It could only have come from the most heartsick of puppy loves. Bartleby again had to scooch as the man next to him swung around in his chair and nearly fell off his barstool.

"Excuse me, bartender," Bartleby snapped his fingers towards the grinning insect, but of course he and everyone was too busy applauding to pay any attention to him. He sighed and decided to move himself. He didn't want to come back to the Palace with the stench of dirty drunk all over him.

"Someday you'll be mine, Sonia," the drunkenly happy man said, "All mine."

Bartleby stayed for another set of songs, mostly ones that he had never heard, but a couple he remembered because he had been there the first time they had ever been played. You didn't normally forget something like that, and no matter how well you tried to block it out, memory prevails eventually.

But everyone immediately knew what the red lights meant as they started flashing wildly, the colorful lights gone, the low fog fading, everything bathed in a low red glow. Needless to say, Bartleby made himself scarce quicker than Sonic himself, disappearing out the nearest exit.

The Underground halted mid-song and for a moment, the place was deathly quiet, everyone waiting for the inevitable. For a moment no one said anything, just watching all the happiness drain out of the room, the red light bringing up fears that were all too real, bringing the realities of the world just outside these walls crashing back inside.

Sonic stepped forward and you could hear every squeal of his sneaker peeling off the hot stage floor as he spoke loud enough for everyone to hear, but not too loud, "Okay everybody, no need to panic. It's probably just a test. Trevor?"

Everyone turned up to the booth where Sonic was looking to see a mouse teen's head pop out of it. He had a "hippie" look to his clothes and hair, but the eyes behind his glasses gave away the intelligence hiding behind them. He didn't look too happy, but everyone could see he was putting his words as kindly as he could.

"Sorry Sonic, but there's a large patrol of SWATbots and two assault tanks headed our way from the Main Street Bridge. Everybody should clear out just to be safe. Take the south tunnel door everyone, it's next to the ladies room."

There was a loud chorus of groans and a bit of anger like the first kernels of corn popping. The Sonic Underground couldn't help but feel greatly disappointed as well. This was the longest concert they had in a while. If they could've, they would've played all night and into the early morning.

"You heard the techie, everybody. Let's get this place vacant in five."

"But hey!" Manic snatched the mike from his drum and leap over it. "We're really glad all of you came. Next time guys! We'll party 'til dawn!"

"Yeah right."

He wasn't met with the cheer he thought he would be. Manic snarled a little, but couldn't locate the angry voice.

"Nice try," another voice said from the crowd.

Tones of dull conversation overtook the crowd as they began to gather their things and head for the exits. Trevor was already disconnecting his DJ station in the lighting and sound booth. Before Manic could say a retort, he found that his mike was off. One of their volunteer "SoUnd" crew, as they called them, plucked it from him as they started clearing off the stage. They were packing everything up and storing it under the stage for retrieval later. Above them the lights closed, rotated, and flipped up, disappearing into ceiling, leaving behind a cobwebby, rotted finish that made it look like most of the other buildings in this part of town.

Manic angrily whipped his drum set back into his drum medallion with a quick gesture that made it pulse neon green. He snatched his sticks out of the fanny pack at his waist and started twirling them about nervously.

Sonia was at his side immediately after calling back her own keyboard into a shining piano key medallion around her neck. She put an arm around his shoulder as it glowed a soft pink.

"Don't take it too hard, Manic. Everyone's just disappointed."

"Yeah, well they don't need to take it out on me, I was just trying to help."

"She's right bro. They didn't mean it," Sonic said quietly as he sat on a stool tuning his guitar.

"Easy for you to say. Any time you open your mouth, everyone goes crazy."

Sonic frowned, his guitar disappearing from his hands, swirling into a blue light and disappearing into a guitar medallion. "Hey, what was that you said about not taking it on other people, bro?"

"Forget it. I'll meet you back at the safehouse."

"Yeah, well maybe you need to cool off a bit!" He shouted over at him as head pushed through the crowd, a few people stared up at Sonic and he bit his lip slightly.

"Sonic," Sonia said a little more softly.

"I know, we shouldn't be fighting in front of everyone. It's bad for morale."

"No! That's not what I was going to say, and you know it."

He sighed again, staring at her.

Her fierce eyes stared back. He had to admit most times she was a royal pain in the neck. It's not like he had a lot of practice having to deal with a sister when he was little. Having siblings was a new and difficult challenge for him – for all three of them. Sure they did love each other, but that didn't mean they always got along 24/7.

"You should go talk to him. He's just stressed out like all of us. We can't let him go home by himself."

"Why not? He's a thief isn't he? He'll be fine in the sewers."

"The Sonic I know would never say anything that cold."

But she wished she hadn't said that as soon as it was out of her mouth.

Sonic folded his arms and stood there a moment longer, just watching as the line of people disappeared down one of the escape tunnel doors, the "SoUnd" crew quickly following, locking up the equipment in the trap door under the stage. Trevor had come down too after finishing disguising the lighting and sound booth as an air duct.

"Sorry to break up the party prematurely," he said.

"It's not your fault, Trevor," Sonia said quickly, "You were right to stop us. It's much better to be safe than sorry, right Sonic?" Her tone was apologetic.

"I'm gonna go for a run," Sonic said without apology, and took this chance to make his exit, heading out through the back door and up the long set of stairs to the alley where the trio had parked their van.

"Sonic!" She called after him, but he was already out the door. She stamped her foot. "That brother of mine, sometimes he makes me so mad – I just wanna scream into a pillow!"

"He'll be back," Trevor said. "Let's find Manic before he gets too far."

He started heading that way, but Sonia was standing in front of the stage, looking towards where they had been playing just minutes earlier.

"Sonia?"

"Oh Trevor..." Sonia started to tear up but didn't look away from the stage, speaking quietly, "I know we always try to keep things upbeat, but there are times when I don't even believe what we're singing up there anymore." She wiped away the tears forming on her face. "I want to though…"

"That just means you're human." He smiled. "What you three are doing is more important than any of our raids on Robotnik. You're keeping all of us hoping."

"Excuse me!"

They both turned around and then looked down to see the eyes of an orange-tabby kitten, round and watery staring up at them like she had just seen a pretty unicorn, like the one on her pink t-shirt.

"Uh," the little girl mumbled and stumbled over her words, a pair of purple heart-shaped glasses balancing on her pink nose, "I was wonderin' if I could get your autograph, Miss Sonia."

"Heh, I'll leave you to your biggest fan," Trevor said with a grin, "I'll run ahead and find Manic."

Sonia wanted to come with him, but at the same time she had such a soft spot for kids - and this one was overwhelmingly cute -_ a little too cute_, part of her mind told her, but she found she couldn't say no. Those little eyes seemed very sincere about admiring her. And they were.

"How could I say no to a sweet little girl like you?" She asked as she knelt down, taking the pad and pen that the child offered. As she started to sign her name, she looked around. Everyone had cleared out. Everyone except the two of them. She could hear the repetitive stomping of the SWATbots battalion coming from around the street corner above them.

"We can't stay here much longer. Who are you here with?"

"Just myself." Sonia finished writing and handed the paper and pen back to her.

"Yourself? Are you from Sanctuary?" Although Sonia couldn't believe any of the caretakers in Sanctuary would allow anyone so young to come all the way out of their safe hiding place down into the city (and to an underground night club at that). It didn't make sense.

"Uh... um..."

"Nevermind. We'll catch up to the group and figure out who you came in with." She gently took the girl by the hand, not wanting to play babysitter, but wanting to get both of them out of there as fast as possible.

She was about to open the door to the tunnel, when she felt the fingers around her hand clamp down, tugging sharply. Great, she thought, now what is it? She forced a smile for her though and turned back to ask her.

"Hi Sonia," greeted exactly the person she did not want to see right now - or ever for that matter. His crushing fist tightened around her wrist and pulled her closer, closer than she liked because she could smell his breath. It was an odd mixture of garlic and alcohol.

"Dingo!" She shrieked, trying out a karate chop on the rippling muscular arm of the orange canine holding her. But to no avail. He stood at least three times her height and was definitely too numb to pain now that he had her in his arms. "Let me go!"

"Thanks for the autograph! I'll treasure it always." Dingo sighed deeply and nuzzled his nose into the paper, perhaps trying to pick up the smell of Sonia's hand. He pressed his slobbery, chapped lips to the paper. Sonia cringed.

Overhead, the doors to the empty building blasted open, and Sonia sighed when she heard an all too-familiar voice ordering the SWATbots to search the building for Resistance members. Of course, if Dingo was around, his partner in crime wouldn't be too far behind him. Before she could do anything about it, she was dragged towards the stairs, which had been blockaded ages before the Resistance had started using this place as a night club. Dingo walked straight through the barricade as if it had never existed in the first place, barely retaining any scratches from the debris. The whole of the old stairwell was covered in a few inches of dust and cobwebs, but even Sonia wasn't worried about getting dirty now.

Placing her hand on her medallion, she tried desperately to call forth her keyboard into its laser form, but it only sparked and went out. No! They had used up way too much energy during their long concert. She reprimanded herself for being so easily conned by this grimy shape-shifter, but there was no going back and fixing it now.

Twisting and pulling with all her might, she couldn't break free from Dingo's monster grip, leaving him to drag her along like a rag doll. She had to run just to keep him from pulling her arm clean out of her socket.

"Sleet! Sleet! Look what I got!"

"Dingo, I don't have time for your asinine little games. I've been trying to reach you for over an hour now. What the heck have you been do-" This was about the time that Sleet, a lanky, grey wolf, whose long cape bore a touch of overcompensation, finally turned around and saw just what it was his idiotic friend was waving around. It certainly wasn't what he expected. Normally, his peanut-brained, bounty hunting sidekick brought him something more like a shiny hubcap or something he had found that he had partially-devoured and decided to save "halfsies" for Sleet. Slightly touching, but disgusting all the same.

"A royal hedgehog? Dingo! You actually did something useful?" Sleet was speechless for a moment, staring at him suspiciously and then deciding he wasn't imagining things.

"I wish I had a camera. Dr. Robotnik will never believe me when I tell him--"

"I'd rather you didn't," Sonia said.

"As for you, where are your brothers hiding?"

"Like I would tell you, Slip."

"You can't blame me for asking nicely," he said. He grinned, showing two rows of predatory teeth. What Sleet sorely lacked in physical strength he made up for in cunning, and you could almost read his evil intentions across his features. His smile was not a good sign.

"Of course, now that means I get to use force to make you talk. And I like doing that."


	2. Party Crasher

Chapter Two: "Party Crasher"

Sonic ran.

As he ran, he became a blue blur against the landscape to all eyes both human and robotic. Running gave him time to think, to take out his aggression in the most physical way possible. He never ran to exhaustion - at least not anymore.

He had done that once. Sure it had felt great. In fact, he had felt better than he had in a long time, but at the same time, he had ended up vulnerable and soaking wet, huddled in a storm drain, unable to take another step and having to spend a thunderous stormy night watching out for any SWATbot Patrols. Not only that, but he had gotten a lecture upon returning home. It was earned sure, but definitely not appreciated. No, this run was strictly just to run off some stress. He hadn't meant to be so cross with either of his siblings. He knew they hadn't either.

Being the fastest thing alive, he was able to do a complete loop of the inner city of Robotropolis before slowing and returning to their temporary concert hall in the warehouse district. Knowing that Sonia and Manic would be waiting for him, he cut his run short. He was only gone for about five minutes – and what could possibly happen in that small amount of time? Apparently, quite a bit.

Skidding to a halt behind a dumpster, he caught sight of the tail end of Sleet and Dingo's personal craft, a bright red scorpion-shaped vehicle capable of land, sea and air travel. Sonic didn't like the fact that his siblings' van was still here and that neither of them were nearby. Course, he figured Manic and Sonia would have high-tailed it out of here as soon as they heard them, van or no van, Sonic thought, checking out the van himself. It was still locked, and when he poked his head inside, it was dark and cold. Either they hadn't come back yet or they had left it behind.

Preparing for the worst, he stormed through the back entrance, which was thankfully still well hidden. He stood only momentarily in the emptiness of the lower level, glad to see that everything was packed and not disturbed. That meant the Resistance had made it out okay. He was thankful for that. That was the one big problem with having a concert. It was too many of them in one place. Too big of a target for Robotnik. Too many chances to lose the already thinning ranks that they had managed to keep together.

It didn't take even Sonic long to figure out that the party crashers in question were upstairs. He could hear Sleet and Dingo's voices loud and clear coming from the direction of the until-recently blockaded stairwell, which had a new opening in the shape of Dingo. He could always count on Dingo to leave a trail right to where the action was.

A little super-sonic snooping was in order here, so he crept silently up the dusty stairs, his ears perked and listening, his eyes watching for any bots or sensors close enough to detect him.

"… where your little hideout is, or I'll roboticize you and get the info anyway."

Sonic held back a growl when he heard Sleet's slick voice, too confident and cruel. It was only a second later when his sister's voice retorted back that his anger turned to fright.

"You wouldn't take that pleasure away from Robotnik, would you?" She asked, but the quiver in her voice said something entirely different.

"Let's just say the pleasure of doing that would fairly compensate anything he could do to me."

"I dunno Sleet, Robotnik will get mad if we do that."

"Shut up, Dingo!"

Sonic had already backed up a few steps, considering his options. From the electrical humming, he could sense there were at least a dozen SWATbots. Medallion power was out of the question. No doubt they had sufficiently drained them during their concert. But he still had his speed. And that was all he needed. He closed his eyes, gathering his focus. He'd get one chance and surprise was on his side.

"No! Stop! HELP!"

This was it. Now or never.

"Juice and jam time," he said to himself as he revved up and shot off like a bullet from a smoking pistol, the cloud of dust from the stairway stinging at his eyes as it blasted back from his wind and flowed into the room, giving him just a bit of cover.

"What was that?" Sleet turned, possibly thinking it was an explosion since that was exactly what it had sounded like. As soon as he caught a glance of blue rushing past him, he realized what they were dealing with. He pulled out his laser gun from his holster and started shooting wildly. Sure he hit a few SWATbots that were dumb enough to get in the way, but if he could just hit that hedgehog once it would stun him for sure. Sonic was fast but not invincible. "It's Sonic! All units open fire! Dingo! Put her in there now!"

Mid-stride, Sonic pivoted and engaged in a super spin, running down a line of bots as a blue tornado. Just a few yards and he'd be at the Roboticizer.

Dingo was trying to push Sonia completely into the portable Roboticization chamber Sleet had brought along for any Resistance members they would find. She was kicking and screaming and doing anything she could not to let the metal cylinder down around her. Even her super strength was no match for its hydraulics.

"You wouldn't do that to me, would you?" Sonia said through gritted teeth, trying to give Dingo a doe-eyed smile, even though more than anything she wanted to break his nose with her boot.

She probably could have been kicking him in the face and he wouldn't have paid her any mind by the love struck look on his face. "I can't," he whined like a kicked puppy, "I could never do that you, Sonia," he said, his words dripping with syrupy devotion.

"Dingo! Put her in there now! That's an order!"

"Yeah, and I'd like two chilidogs with fries and a large Root Beer, got it Dingo?" Sonic said standing next to Dingo, leaning against the chamber.

"Uh…two--"

"Unless you want something too Sonia?" he asked her with a playful smirk.

"I'd like to get the heck out of here if you don't mind!" She said with a growl. But he could tell by the smile on her face she was more than happy to see him.

"One order to go then!" Sonic said, turning into another super spin and knocking Dingo away. He skidded out of it and strained to hold up the metal briefly so Sonia could dive out under it. He whipped his hands back before the force pushing it down could snap them clean off, but not before Sleet's laser hit him clean in the back. He had the perfect shot.

A burning heat seared Sonic and he winced, but held his feet strong in place. Fear seized him, the urge to run and run fast as he could overtaking him. His house was on fire. Run from the fire! _The biggest rev you've ever done! _He had to stop the rush of memories. _The present._ _Stick to the present_, he scolded himself.

"Sonic! Hold onto me!" Sonia had never tried to do a super spin with someone else, but figured now wasn't the time to second guess. Sleet was closing in with the remaining SWATbots. The spin wasn't nearly as fast and she wobbled from the extra weight, but she found she was more powerful with it. She steered towards the stairs, bowling through two more SWATbots.

She pulled out of the spin but slipped on the stairs. Sonic leaned forward and kept them from tumbling. A snap riveted across his back, making him cry out. _Damnit!_ He pulled something for sure. But they couldn't stop. Sleet's voice was yelling after them as they took the stairs a few steps at a time. They were both sweating and panting and shaking as they made their way back into the abandoned concert hall.

"Are you okay?"

"Keep going! Van's outside!" He pointed up the stairs.

Laser-fire destroyed what was left of the Dingo-shaped barricade.

"Can you make it up there?"

"Gonna have to! Grab on!"

Sonia hesitated, the concern in her eyes doing the talking for her. But Sonic glared at her. "I can do it!"

She clung around his neck as he blasted up the steps. Every single one burned but he pushed past them, gritting his teeth. He couldn't stop. He wouldn't give up. They were almost home free!

But he collapsed promptly at the top of them, blackness overtaking him. Sonia's voice sounded so far away. What was she yelling about? His body felt like it was rising, or was it being lifted? He could hear the distant sounds of their van, engine rumbling, could even feel the intense vibrations. His cheek was resting on something metal and was rattling with every pothole the van ran over. Had he fallen asleep at the wheel again? He hated long car trips. Running was so much easier. And he really was running. In his dream there was nothing but the open road, stretching forever into the vanishing point of a clear blue horizon.

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Author's Note:

Thanks Shmeilia Rockie for the edits! I went ahead and made them to the first chapter. Reviews are great everybody, but don't feel like you gotta leave 'em. This is just a fun project between my novel-writing. I dunno where it's gonna end up, so I hope you enjoy the ride as much as I do!

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	3. Secrets in the Thieves Highway

**Chapter Three: "Secrets in the Thieves Highway"**

Manic's well-worn drumsticks rattled loudly along the edge of the pipe as he walked, his mind not paying attention in the slightest to their steady rhythm, just letting his reflexes do the hard work, leaving his mind to think clearly. He always thought easier when he could distract himself. It wasn't that he was fidgety by nature, more by occupation. Having grown up on the streets as a thief, he knew better than to stand idly anywhere for too long. That was part of the reason why he was taking the Thieves Highway home, through the endlessly twisting sewer channels. In a way, he was more at home here than anywhere else. The spaces were compact, protective like a shield. There were many places to hide and conversely many exits and entrances all over the city. If he thought himself prince of anything it was this hidden world under the city streets.

He was thinking deeply, although any observer probably would have figured he was just spacing out. Manic just had a lot on his mind. Things had been so simple for him most of his life. Until Sonic and Sonia had literally come crashing into it. But things were complicated now. Part of it being that both of them looked down on his "thieving ways", even though numerous times his sleight of hand had pulled them out of danger (especially a certain "frequency harmonizer" he_ liberated_). That didn't keep them from ragging on him about it. _Yeah, Sonia, in a perfect world I wouldn't have t_o. But this wasn't a perfect world.

Blind hope never put food on anyone's table that he knew of.

It wasn't that in particular he was thinking about, although it always seemed to cross his mind whenever he was traveling along the Thieves Highway. He was mainly thinking about his brother. He knew for sure Sonic would have a lecture waiting for him as soon as he arrived back at the safe-house, about leaving before all the Resistance members were safely cleared out, about needing to stay together as a team in case something happened. But Sonic _always_ had everything under control. He _always_ seems to have a plan, even when it's made of nothing but running around in circles.

Honestly, he had just wanted to get out before he had a screaming match with his brother. And yeah, he was a little jealous of Sonic always getting the attention, but he couldn't help it. Even though they're triplets; Manic always seemed to find himself playing the "middle child" role. Sonia's too spoiled – indisputably the baby of the group – and Sonic's always acted as the all-knowing eldest, taking on more responsibility than he probably ought to. Manic cared deeply about both of them; it was just at times he had trouble relating to their problems. Maybe his "middle-childness" had more to do with his upbringing? _Nature versus nurture. _Wasn't that what Sonia had called it? Something weird and uppity like that.

Manic stopped before turning the corner, halting his drumsticks mid-beat and shoving them back into their special place in his fanny pack. It wasn't a sight or a sound that caught his attention. It was a smell. Sure, in the sewer smells were more than common, but that was what stood out about this one. It was out of place. He took another whiff. Definitely a strong men's cologne. Something that he always smelled leaking off stuffy-old Bartleby. Manic never understood the point of dousing yourself in that gunk. It smelled terrible and made you stick out like, well, a mink in a sewer. Whoever was wearing it sure overdid it since normally even a little bit would have been masked by the strong scent of the sewage. That's what made him curious.

"You are simply doing it all wrong!" A male voice boomed, echoing loudly in the confined space, "Do be careful, each one of those is worth more than all the parts of you combined! Not like that! You idiots! Who programmed you to walk like that? Honestly!"

More complaints issued as Manic peered stealthily around the corner. The speaker was a tall rat, dressed in an gawdy lacey outfit that made Manic sick to his stomach just from looking at it. He knew right away the smell was coming from him because in one hand was a large perfume bottle with which he seemed to be spraying everything around him, including himself. Even his pants where thick with lace and his dainty shoes definitely showed this guy had never worked a day in his life – or if he did, he had forgotten.

He was directing a large number of worker bots, citizens who had once been free and of flesh and blood, now "roboticized" into mindless, robot slaves of Robotnik. One of them Manic recognized immediately.

"Ferrel!" He nearly ran for his old guardian right then but held himself back behind the corner, squeezing the piping until his knuckles ached. He couldn't. He wanted to with everything he had, but he knew that he couldn't fight them. There were too many. And he couldn't use his medallion power yet anyway, because it was drained from their concert. Not that he could create an earthquake down here anyway, it would bury everyone, including himself. He couldn't risk hurting Ferrel, the one who had risked everything to protect him and who taught him everything he knew about thieving and more importantly about family.

He tried not to cry upon seeing him, holding back the emotion behind a dam in his mind. It had been at least a few years since he had last seen him. He tried to convince himself that just seeing him meant things would be okay again. Someday. But someday couldn't come soon enough.

A few SWATbots were overseeing the worker bots with little to no interest in guarding the operation from intruders. Manic supposed they wouldn't run into many people down here except for thieves – and any smart thief upon seeing this operation would steer clear. But he wasn't your ordinary thief. He was a member of the Resistance – and as such, anything Robotnik was up to he wanted to be in the know about. A quick spy mission might bring him some favor back home too.

Manic waited until Mr. Fancy-Pants was looking the other way for a moment before he slipped from around the corner and dodged behind two canisters that barely fit inside this section of the sewer. He was safely concealed behind them for the moment and crept along, trying not to sneeze – that smell was overpowering and the closer he got to this dude the worse it got. It was like he had slam-dunked himself in a bath tub of it. And he was still pouring it on as he peered around the edge of the canister.

"Work faster! I refuse to stay longer in this skunk's hovel than necessary! You heard me slave, move it!" Almost casually, he took out a handkerchief to cover his hand and shoved a worker-bot, a short squirrel, into the water, where it violently short-circuited, carried away in the slow current of sludge and oily water. Manic nearly ran out, drumsticks whirling, powers or no powers, but he clenched his fists and bit down on his anger. Don't jump him. There's too many! Stay hidden. But oh how he wanted to slug him one and send him into the water.

Manic ducked as eight worker bots dragged two huge hoses past him. They unceremoniously dropped them and the ends tumbled down into the gunky water with heavy plops, sinking with a few large bubbles bursting at the surface. Glorp!

He had no time to wonder what they were for before he saw them in action. He turned back just in time to see the Fancy Pants order a large machine to be turned on. Already Manic knew he hated it. The design practically screamed Robotnik, who had a flair for the melodramatic along with useless parts that just added to the mess. Only this thing wasn't making a mess, it was cleaning it up.

Manic couldn't believe his eyes. The machine was sucking up the pollution in the sewer alright, but that wasn't all. It was spewing out a thick blue liquid, nearly the color of his brother, but glowing. The water hissed sharply like acid eating apart a steel plate. He watched with horror as Fancy Pants strapped on a gas mask. Immediately his hands went to his mouth and a panic rose in him. When Manic caught the first whiff of what it was he took off without thinking.

His nostrils flared and burned – it reminded him of the stench of the inner city hospitals that some of the Resistance members ran. Everything sterile, leaving bitterness on his tongue. Immediately he knew he had to get out of here before he asphyxiated. There was too much of whatever it was pouring in all at once and the stuff was spreading. Of all the things you could die from in the sewer, he never figured cleaning supplies would be a threat. Of course this wasn't your convenience store brand. This was industrial strength. And like everything Robotnik made, it reeked of death.

Of course they saw the intruder retreat from his hiding place and he could hear the metallic footsteps pounding in the pipes, making it sound like an entire battalion was hot on his tail. This only made Manic fly through it faster. He suddenly wished he had his hoverboard, but as he saw the gunk wash past him, hissing and sending up sprays of gas he knew that was only asking for trouble. This stuff looked so potent he was sure it might eat through anything it touched. He had to get topside and fast.

Around another corner he saw his chance, a ladder on the other side of the piping. The gunk was sweeping through. It wasn't a lot yet and it only cut through the usual smell of the sewer, but Manic knew soon it would be enough to suck out all the breathable air and he decided it was either now or never. It only helped that SWATbots were shooting up the piping as they came after him.

Backing up a few steps for good measure he flung himself across. His arms flailed but his sneakers caught the other edge. They slid on the slime coating the floor of this place and he windmilled, barely keeping himself from back-flopping into the yin-yang mixture churning below him. Another shot blasted just inches from his arm as he caught onto the ladder and yanked himself up as fast as he could scramble with his sopping sneakers, squeaking on every rung. A few more shots whined on the edges of the rungs.

He threw his shoulder against the manhole cover and it flipped out, the sound deafening as it rattled on the pavement. His fingers dug for purchase as he heaved himself out, hurriedly looking around. Another shot hit his sneaker, giving him a boost out. He withdrew and hurriedly slammed the lid. At the very least he was in an alleyway and not in the middle of a street. He had no time to breathe deeply before the cover rocked. He scrambled to his feet and skidded as he careened down an alley. He wasn't even a fraction as fast as Sonic, but it always surprised him how fast you could make yourself run if you had to. A stitch ripped up his side and his breaths were tight, a biting pain stung his throat like a cold, but he forced himself to keep going.

Up here there wasn't the familiarity of the maze below where he could always find his way. Nevertheless he knew he hadn't been far from the storm drain pits. The gunk wouldn't be there for another few minutes and from there it was a quick jog home. He had to hurry. This wasn't something he could do by himself. He needed his siblings. This was a first class emergency and it desperately needed their attention. The needs of his friends, his neighbors, even his rivals – everyone who called the sewers their home was in danger – this drove him on.


	4. Falling Out

**Chapter Four: "Falling Out"**

Sonia didn't even glance towards Manic as he came in. She could smell him coming. Had smelled him coming to the safe-house from quite a distance. In the same way he could smell perfume in a sewer, she could smell sewer permeating through her home. She frowned. He was also very late, even for Manic.

"Where's—" But he didn't need to finish asking, he nearly tripped over the cot she had set up for Sonic. Said brother was completely conked out for the moment and hadn't so much as stirred when Manic had opened the door. Sonic could probably sleep through a meteorite crashing outside their door.

"What happened?" Manic knelt down beside him. Sonic looked alright, no wounds that he could see – on the surface that was. He bit his lip.

"Oh nothing really," Sonia said, "The usual, you know Sleet and Dingo—"

"What? At the concert!?"

Sonia sighed, but it was more from exhaustion than annoyance. "Dingo was there, disguised as a little girl. He caught me off guard and Sonic…"

"He saved you."

They sat there for a few moments. Sonia looked as if she was going to say something but she bit back her words. They'd had enough disagreements, and right now all she wanted was some peace and quiet. Plenty of time to discuss things in the morning.

"I got bad news."

"Oh?" Her response was genuine. That was all they needed. Something else to worry about.

"Robotnik's doing something to the sewers. There was this rat guy and a team of SWATbots down there." He almost added with Ferrel, but decided not to mention this to Sonia. "And some worker-bots."

"What were they doing down there?"

"He's got this machine, Sonia. I don't know what it is exactly but it's pumping chemicals into everything. Smelled like a hospital."

"Robotnik is cleaning the sewers? And you're upset about this?" Sonia laughed.

"No, it's not like that. What he's doing… That stuff's toxic, it'll kill anybody who breathes in too much of it. There's not enough ventilation down there."

Sonia sighed, and hesitated before going over and gently waking up Sonic, shaking his shoulders back and forth.

At first there was simply a moan but then he opened his eyes, looking blurrily around for a few moments, his mouth half open. He started to pull himself into a sitting position but stopped midway, cringing. He waved Sonia away when she tried to reach out to him.

"Just pulled… something. I'm good."

"Manic says there's trouble-"

"Yeah, I heard. The sewers."

"You did?"

"Couldn't sleep with you two yakkin, now could I?" He offered one of his charming smiles and she couldn't help but be a little annoyed, but smiled softly in return. Just as well.

"I know we got a few things to iron out," Manic said, "But this is urgent."

"Don't sweat it," Sonic replied quickly, "I don't like the sound of what he's doing down there. It doesn't fit his usual _m.o.,_ if you know what I mean." He stretched and stood up, shaking out his muscles. He sure was tired, but figured he wouldn't get much sleep unless they dealt with this first. Besides, the small nap had reenergized him somewhat.

"We gotta leave now," Manic said.

"Heh, for the first time I'm not the one in a hurry." Sonic grinned, slipping on his sneakers and lacing them up with practiced ease.

"Can you remember where this machine was?" Sonia asked.

"We can't fight it now. Not without some protective gear or something," Manic said, "First we oughta get to Sewer Central. Get out word what's going on and block off that section so it can't spread all over the city."

"Sorry, sewer what?" Sonia asked.

"Sewer Central. It's …" Manic noticed his sibs looking at him curiously. He realized they were just wasting time talking about it, "easier if I just take you there. C'mon." He was out the door before either of them could reply.

"Wait!" Sonic said, very annoyed that someone had just left him in the dust.

Sonia followed after them, locking up the safe-house and yanking down their generator switch as they ran down the hall and out a secret entrance that led up to the street level. The lights faded after them into darkness.

* * *

The first thing Manic noticed was the van wasn't in the usual spot. He looked back to see Sonic tapping his foot.

"Would you mind not running off without us? Again."

Manic frowned, ignoring the accusation. "Where's the van?"

"Where do ya think? Back at the club. Probably where you parked it, genius."

"Don't have to get snarky."

"Don't start fighting again, please," Sonia pleaded. "I've had enough."

"You want the van? Fine. I'll go get it. Now wait here, would ya?" Sonic said, glaring at him. In a flash he was gone, the two of them knocked off their feet.

"What did you say to him, Manic?"

"Me? Don't be so high and mighty! He's the one picking fights."

"Never mind."

Two minutes and Fifty-two point five seconds passed by in awkward silence between them. Manic was pacing, though not as frantic as his brother might have had things been reversed. Sonia leaned against the wall, studying her complexion in her compact she took from her pocket. A bit of her mascara had run from earlier and so she covered up the small black streak with a touch of powder. She half-smiled at herself. Try to keep your chin up, she told herself. Mother would want that. Keep everyone together. She closed it just as they both heard the Sonic Underground van's familiar engine whine as it came around the corner quickly and whirred to a halt.

The loading ramp door clanged down in the dirt as Sonic stumbled out, his eyes were wide and his face was pale. Immediately they sensed something was wrong and came towards him.

Their faces were practically screaming, "What! What is it?" and somehow he couldn't find the words to respond. He swore he was thinking them and forcing them up from his diaphragm, but the words died in his throat, coming out only in barely strung together syllables. His whole mouth felt dry, as if he had been running for hours.

"Sonic?!" Sonia took hold of his hands but he did not respond to her gentle squeeze.

Manic pushed past them, deciding it must be something in the van. He ran up the ramp and inside. His attention was caught by the light of the viewing screen along the wall of the van. What he saw there nearly gave him a heart attack.

"We gotta move! Now!" Sonic finally said, "They don't have much time!"

"Who doesn't? Sonic you're scaring me! What's going on?" He was looking at Sonia, but it was almost like he was looking past her, which frightened her even more. She pushed past him and followed Manic into the van. Unlike her brothers, her mouth couldn't stop running as soon as she saw what was on the screen.

It was one of several cameras they had rigged up using old spybots as outer shells – sort of a counter-intelligence they used to keep tabs on Robotnik's activities. However, instead of showing helpful secrets, this particular model had uncovered their worst nightmare.

A crackled voice confirmed this was real. Too real. "Dingo! Keep them moving. We don't want to be late, now do we?"

Trevor and many of the other core resistance members (more than that, Sonia corrected herself, these are our friends – our best friends) were in chains, being rounded up and shoved into numbered transport vehicles. It wasn't hard to figure out their final destination. Sleet's toothy smile directed at the camera told them everything they didn't want to hear: It's the Roboticizer for all of you.

"How did this even happen? We were just with them minutes ago! Everybody was in the safe tunnels. I was the last one and saw everyone go in there! There's no way he could've--"

"Safe!" Manic laughed but there was no mirth in it at all. "No one's safe anymore, Sonia! Not even in the sewers."

"Look are you two comin or am I flyin solo?" Sonic spoke up, stepping between them. "Cause I'm not waitin much longer."

"Sonic, we can't just rush—" the phone on the van's dash began to ring.

With each ringing tone, Sonic shifted his weight from foot to foot. Sonia was torn. She stepped towards him but then backed up, looking at the phone. No one ever called the van number. Only a handful of people even had the frequency. In the end her curiosity won out and she answered it.

"I'll take that as a no." Sonic said, letting each word ring with a tone that was anything but his usually easy-going attitude.

Manic growled. He hated that everyone was leaving him out. Acting like he wasn't even there. Didn't their allies underground mean anything to them? That gunk down there would kill them for sure. Someone had to warn them. And if his siblings wouldn't help, well he wasn't just going to stand there.

"It's not easy for me to say this…"

The familiar voice caught their attention and the two of them rushed abroad, feeling like their world was quickly becoming a clown car that they were frantically crawling in and out in an endless cycle, becoming more confused.

The Guardian of the Floating Island was on the video on the dash, the only working phone there in his hands, one of them trying to muffle his voice over the receiver. Beads of sweat were rolling down his cheeks and he looked a little purple in the face. His words were steady but it was easy to tell he'd been running.

"… But I'm in over my head up here, Sonia… I," there was a long pause as he saw Sonic and Manic now looking at him as well, "I need help."

An explosion rocked the signal, Knuckles appeared to brace himself. "The Island is under attack. I haven't seen so many robots in one place. The traps stopped some of them, but they just keep—" his words faded into static.

"Knuckles!" Sonia called, desperately trying to find his frequency again, but getting nothing but the same static fuzz.

"What the heck is going on!? Is this International Pick on Freedom Fighters Day or what?" Even though it sounded like one of his usual remarks, this one was laced with something darker.

"We gotta help Knuckles!" Sonia said.

"No way, Red can take care of himself! What we gotta do is go save Trevor and the gang before the Resistance is history. And that means now!" Sonic took her hand in his.

Manic tried to retort, "But we can't—"

"And if Robotnik gets the Chaos Emeralds – did you even think about that?" Sonia fired back at Sonic, brushing away his hand.

"No, you just wanna save him," Sonic said, "If you know what I mean!" And she did. It was a discussion they had before. He didn't like her "paling around" with Knuckles.

"Hey!" Manic shouted, trying to be heard over the two of them.

"Can it, Manic!" Sonic shouted back and started in at Sonia again.

In a matter of seconds the argument escalated, each of them firing off words louder and louder, wildly gesticulating until it became an all-out three-way shouting match. Finally they began to lose breath and steam.

"Look you two do what you want, but I'm saving the Resistance. With or without you. Might have lost a few already," he added, hoping it would sting.

"Okay," Sonia bit back tears, "Fine. And I'll give Knuckles your warm regards," Sonia said in her most uppity tone.

"People could be dying in the sewers now cause of that gunk," Manic said, now finally being able to be heard, "and neither of you care! Well it won't just affect us down there, your majesties. If that stuff gets near the water you can kiss your clean drinking water goodbye. And when it does, don't come crying to me."

There was silence for at least two minutes between the three of them. They couldn't even look at each other. Tears were fresh on their faces.

"Yeah well," Sonic turned toward the door, "Who needs ya?"

"I don't," Manic said quickly, "I'm sick and tired of you two ignoring me and telling me what I can and can't do. From now on, you're on your own."

Sonic responded with a snort, "Right back atcha."

"Sonic wait," Sonia said, "We can't break up! The Oracle said—"

"Oracle-smore-acle," Sonic said, "Ya know, he's said a lot of things, but I don't see any of them happening. Do you Sonia? Do you? You see Mom here?" He played looking around for her.

Did he expect her to answer? She didn't and couldn't make eye contact with him either.

"See? Don't think so. Looks like it's time I made my own destiny, 'stead of waitin for destiny to find me."

Sonic paused a moment more in the doorway, what seemed like ages to him. Neither of them would look at him. That was fine. It was easier that way. Easier to run. Easier to not look back. He was good at doing that. He took a breath and buried the hurt deep in his heart. Then he was gone. Without a good-bye.

Sonia felt like crying, but she also felt like screaming in rage. She was torn again between these two emotions. It wasn't supposed to go like this. Nothing was going right. It was like everything they did just got thrown back in their faces. They didn't even get one step forward for every two steps back. Lately, it was more like three steps back and a shove backwards for good measure. She hadn't noticed that Manic had also slipped outside. When she looked up she was alone in the van. Alone with the haunting camera video reminding her that time wasn't on their side – and hadn't they wasted enough of it fighting? She switched them off, unable to watch her friends being silently shuffled along to their fate.

She suddenly felt very small. She hugged herself tightly before shutting the door to the van and buckling herself into the driver's seat and switching the van into air travel mode, hidden wings sliding out from under the floorboards and the hover jets rotating and shifting to the back, roaring to life as she blasted into the sky. In a very un-lady-like gesture that she had probably picked up from her brothers, she wiped her face with her sleeve, fully realizing she just smudged all the make-up on the right side of her face onto her blouse. It didn't matter because her heart hurt so much more.

Manic was already several stories below with his hover board that he had stowed in the back of the van. He was now skidding just over the fast moving current. He hoped he wasn't too late. Secretly, he hoped none of them were. Because it wasn't that he didn't care about Trevor and the crew or even Knuckles. But this was his home! Couldn't they understand that? Just for once?

Manic saw the familiar waterfall up ahead and he reveled in it. He leaned forward all the way down, kneeling and holding his board tightly with both hands, more tightly than he needed to. It wasn't just his body that was falling. His heart was, and he could almost feel it shattering apart in the water below, carelessly, like a discarded bottle, as he splashed down and continued surfing down another pipe, disappearing into the darkness.


	5. Operation: Triple Threat

**Chapter Five: "Operation: Triple Threat"**

Robotnik was patting himself on the back, quite literally this time. He even had half a mind to build a robot specifically for that job since it was tiring work. He was already working up a sweat from it. He was fairly sure he had pulled something but that wasn't anything a massage bot couldn't fix. Now if only he could fix Sleet and Dingo. Again, if only; he knew that was a waste of effort. He steeled himself for their report.

For once though, it was exactly what he wanted to hear.

* * *

Sleet knew asking him was a bad idea, but he had to know. It was better to ask a dumb question than to pretend you knew the answer. "So, you're not mad at us?" Sleet finally asked, grinning from ear to ear. He was sweating underneath his collar.

"Mad? At you? My two favorite servants?" Robotnik said with a light air.

His mood was unnaturally sunny and Sleet wasn't sure how he felt about that. Normally Robotnik wasn't one for a jolly mood. Normally that meant he was about to erupt like a volcano and pitch everyone within a fifty-foot radius of him into the nearest trash compactor.

"I thought I was his favorite!" Dingo whined, completely missing the point, as usual.

Sleet had a hand on his remote, fingering the button there, with half a mind to morph Dingo into something useful, particularly something without a mouth. Like a couch, for instance.

"But sir, we—"

"Did exactly what I knew you two numbskulls would do, keep the hedgehogs distracted. You see, we weren't hunting for them… this time." Robotnik's grin was still cheery even though his words were sharp like knives. "Their little concert kept them distracted long enough for me to put 'Operation: Triple Threat' into action."

"Triple-what?" This time, Sleet did push the button. Dingo melted into an orange pile of goo before reforming into a couch. Sleet sat on the cushion that had Dingo's face. There. Much better.

"Do tell me more, sir," Sleet said, feigning his interest.

It was always best to do that with him. The bloated dictator enjoyed compliments above most things and loved being listened to above everything else. Some occasions he would just gather all the aristocrats just to yak at them about anything in particular for an hour or two. Sleet could tell they always hated that, but they could never let on that Robotnik bored them to tears. If they did, Sleet would be escorting them promptly to the nearest Roboticizer, which was always displayed promptly in the corner of the auditorium as a reminder during such occasions. Sleet had learned a lot from watching those helpless fools pander to the dictator, and these ingenious skills were only exacerbated by his own charming personality.

"I only didn't tell you before," Robotnik said, sauntering behind Dingo formerly not-a-couch, "Because I knew one of you would blab to the Resistance."

"Oh yes," Sleet agreed, "Dingo, for sure. A smart move."

"Thank you." More brownie points. Sleet allowed himself a grin.

"You see, I've been going about this the wrong way. If I want to catch those royal brats, I have to catch them individually. When they're together they do pose a threat, but when separated…"

"Easy targets," Sleet finished.

"Precisely."

"After careful research into previous encounters, I developed three traps, designed specifically with each hedgehog in mind. I activated them all within an hour of each other to cause chaos. My spies have informed me that each hedgehog is on-route. All we have to do now is wait."

"What if they manage to escape? Sonic, particularly, is very tricky." Skating on thin ice, but he had the feeling there was something more to this. He was right.

"Not to worry, I have a bigger surprise in store for them here." He laughed heartily, lost in his own thoughts, mumbling to himself. Sleet knew his role in this was over and that was fine with him. He and Dingo had other things to do.

* * *

A hooded figure moved quickly amongst the arctic wasteland, her boots sinking deep into the snowy drifts, keeping her arms wrapped tightly around herself, as if that would do anything to dissuade the drafts from breaking through her woolen defenses. She knew the way, but as usual, she was frightened she might have come to the wrong icy rock face. Another wind blew from the North and she shivered. She hoped she wasn't mistaken.

A door that had not been there seconds before opened just as she was about to knock her gloved knuckles against the rock. She lowered her hand as a warty toad-like Mobian bowed deeply, the hood of his thick purple robe flopping down over his face.

"Always a pleasure, your highness."

"You were expecting me."

"It is difficult to surprise an oracle," he said with a grin, "Don't linger in the cold. Come inside, your Majesty." He rose and stepped aside.

She pushed back her parka hood as she stepped through the magical barrier of warmth that protected his home. The door behind her faded into a wall of books. Within seconds her parka became unnecessary and she removed it, draping it over her arm. He offered to take it. He hung it up on a nearby coat rack that looked more like a huge pile of coats and scarves. It did not fall off and seemed to stick there.

"There is no need for formality when it is just the two of us," she said.

"As you wish, Aleena."

He disappeared deeper into his home and she followed. She wasn't at all surprised to see that he was leading her deep into his study. All of the walls were covered in books, many that were lying open in various places, others stacked in a particular order with bookmarks protruding from several places. In the center of his desk, among the parchments, artifacts, scrolls and books lay a dusty crystal ball. With a sweep of his robed arm he swept most of these important-looking papers and such on the ground and dusted off the crystal ball. Immediately it sparkled into life, the clouds inside churning as it gave off a glow.

His hands moved across its surface expertly. "You wish to see your children."

"Am I really so easy to read, old friend?"

He laughed, "It's not like this is the first time you have come seeking that request."

She smiled.

"Let's get to business then, though excuse me if I have to grab the kettle. I just put it on. Still a fan of the Earl of Grey with extra cream?"

She nodded.

She stood beside him as the clouds separated, revealing one of her children. She was surprised that the others were not with him. But then again, Manic did seem to be someone who enjoyed his privacy. She had to keep herself from touching the surface, reaching in to touch him. She knew she could not. Her heart ached and she forced down the familiar pangs, locking them away so she wouldn't waste her time wishing for the past or the future. Had he grown taller? She thought so, though it was always so difficult to tell without seeing him in person.

Manic was running through somewhere she had only heard of before: Sewer Central. The thieves community tended to keep to themselves and like many attributes of their trade, its location was a guarded secret. He seemed in a rush but there was no immediate danger around him. He was in a place of safety and she sighed with relief.

"Good. May I see the others?"

"One moment," he closed his eyes and the clouds closed, his fingers reaching, parting others open, "He won't hold still long enough to – Aha! Here he is. "

She smiled; she knew it was Sonic even before she saw him. Again she took a deep breath and folded her hands together. He did not appear to be faring as well as Manic. He was fighting a battalion of SWAT-Bots single-handedly. He was difficult to watch because he was so fast, quicker than anything else and even with such advanced magic he was little more than a blue blur until he destroyed the last one and stopped, leaning against a wall, breathing heavily, his medallion glowing softly. He leaned his head against the bricks and she could see the sweat forming. She squeezed her fingers together. If only she could speak to him.

He pushed away from the wall, limping a little, but he wasn't ready to stop yet. "Can't… give up… C'mon hedgehog… keep going." And without another word he was gone again and the clouds returned.

"Sorry, he's difficult to keep up with."

"Do not apologize," she said, "It was good to see him." And it was, she could feel the tears coming but held them back. He was hurt. She knew this instinctively.

"Sonia?" She asked and he nodded.

For a few moments she held her breath. The others had been relatively easy to find, what had happened to her daughter? Was she in danger as well? The minutes passed and though she kept her patience she wanted to ask again.

"Ah, the Floating Isle, a difficult place to track down. Here she is."

And there she was, beyond the parting clouds she snuck through the tropical trees, ducking into some flowering bushes as a squadron of stealth bots flew overhead. They seemed to linger in the area a bit too long and the Queen did not even breathe as if that would give her child away. When the squadron passed they both let out the same sigh.

A tear rolled down her cheek. Then another. Soon she couldn't stop them. She turned away and covered her face with her hands for a moment. Her cheeks were bright red. She had not meant to cry but she was so worried. And what was worse, she felt so powerless. How she hated this prophecy!

"Aleena." She felt a hand on her shoulder. She looked up. "Do not despair. They will be fine."

The tea kettle whistled sharply.

"No, I must go to them!" She ran for the door. To Hell with the prophecy! They were her children. She could stand by no longer. She had waited too many long years already.

He blocked her way to the door. "I must insist that you stay for tea." He snapped his fingers and the whistling stopped instantly, a cup and saucer appearing in his hands.

"I do not mean to be rude, Orpheus, but this is not the time for such frivolities."

He frowned. "Then do forgive my bluntness, Majesty, because I recall mentioning a number of times that you are not to interfere until the prophecy is fulfilled." He thrust the steaming cup at her again, not spilling a single drop.

She watched its steam waft slowly up. She could see her face reflected in the swirling surface. She finally plucked it from his open palm and sat down on a long couch. "Please forgive me, old friend. Even I am growing ever impatient."

He sighed deeply and joined her. "You are not the only one, I can assure you. I'm certainly not getting any younger you know." His smile was kind.

"None of us are," she agreed, "Especially my children."

His voice rose with renewed vigor. "Yet you must have faith in them still! This is their destiny as well as your own. You will indeed form the Council of Four, but it will only be in the fullness of time. Not when you or I deem it ready. The Powers That Be work in mysterious ways that even I cannot begin to comprehend."

"I suppose I should find that comforting?"

"Aleena, you are not super-human."

She stared down into her cup. The tears had stopped at last but her face looked worn and tired. She had been running for so long.

"Nor does anyone expect you to be," he continued in a softer tone, "Even if you wanted to help, you cannot be in three places at once."

"There must be something I can do though."

"As I have said before, I will not force you to stay out of this. You have intervened before and events faired well, but any time you do so is a great risk to all of us. So long as you understand that…"

"Yes. I know. But this weight is so difficult to bear… alone."

"None of us is ever truly alone," he said softly, taking her hand, "I am always here to listen and guide."

She smiled and squeezed his in return. "Orpheus, you are a true friend. Perhaps I will stay for a spot of tea. Then I must go."

"Only if you desire. I will not make you stay. I never could, even when you were my young apprentice."

She didn't know why but they both burst into laughter then, and it felt so good to do so, even if just for a fleeting moment. It was the sort of thing you did with a friend.

Sometimes laughter is all that needs to be said.

* * *

Author's Note:

To all my readers, yes! I am planning to finish this one! Thank you for being so patient with me. The updates have been few and far between due to working on my two original novels. I promise I will let you know when they are published! In the meantime if you want to see what I've been up to, I update my blog, bi-weekly with new "flash short fiction" every Friday and new chapters to my on-going serials every Tuesday. My blog link is now available is on my profile, which is newly updated!

Thank you for all of your feedback. Know that I read and appreciate every review and I wish all of you well in your own writing adventures. Keep reading and writing!

- Joanie


	6. Roboticized

**Chapter Six: "Roboticized"**

Had someone been watching him? For a moment Sonic had felt a ghostly presence surrounding him. He touched his medallion and it glowed softly. He didn't feel any immediate danger. His eyes scanned the area methodically. No spy bots. No cameras. It must be his imagination getting to him. He was tired, but he would not give up. He told himself so and was off again.

Two blocks away from the Roboticization Compound the security tripled, tightening into a hard circle. Sonic knew this wouldn't be easy, but Manic and Sonia would have been welcome help. He shoved thoughts of them to the back of his mind.

No distractions. That was the easiest way to get caught. Focus.

He went over the reports again in his head. They had twenty-seven key members of the resistance somewhere inside. He had little more than half an hour at the most to free them before the industrial strength Roboticizer could warm up. That sucker was like an assembly line of death. He knew. He had once been shackled down onto its conveyer belt. Even now he could still remember the screams of fright just in front of him, the sound of metal crushing flesh. Hissing steam. He could almost feel the rumbling under his feet. Sonic clenched his fist and closed his eyes, trying to block out the fear creeping through him.

No! None of his friends would go through that. He gritted his teeth, his eyes narrowing. He wanted to just bust in there, but he had learned painfully from experience that if he wanted to free everyone he'd have to be more covert. If it was just Trevor or Cyrus… but no, not twenty-seven people at once. No, this had to be done delicately. He could do it, though. He just had to.

The SWATbots stood in a tight circle, about five meters apart, stretching around the entire building, each packing an advanced model of laser rifle. He whistled low. He would never get through on the ground level. Underground was a no-go, not without Manic. He'd get lost for one thing, and there was the possible gas situation too. Too risky. So only one way left to go. He looked up.

All the buildings of this section of Robotropolis were old only by Robotnik's standard, which was nearly as old as Sonic was. Robotnik never bothered to update any of them. What he would do is stack more and more buildings on top of them, adding on bridges and ports, tacking more and more additions on until some of them couldn't hold all the extra baggage and leaned together, creating a forest of machinery.

Unfortunately this building wasn't leaning onto any others, but there was an intricate web of cables strung back and forth across it, connecting power supply boxes and some low-grade data terminals. He swallowed. It was better than having to cross water, but he wasn't so great with heights either. He liked the ground best, thank you very much. But it was his best way in the building. They wouldn't expect him to try it. They'd be waiting for him to bust through the weakest point in the circle. He could see the spy-bots hovering in that area. They darted quickly from shadow to shadow but not quick enough for him to miss.

Having made his decision, Sonic scaled the building, hand over hand, sticking close to the shadows as possible. He felt the arches in his feet twitch the higher he went. Don't look down, he told himself, just keep moving. Don't think about it.

Telling yourself not to think about something and actually doing that are two different things. Sonic found this out when he finally reached the summit of his climb. He couldn't help but look down. From this height the SWATbots looked like tiny plastic figurines, all lined up in a circle like dominoes. This thought should have amused him, but he was too nervous.

He forced himself to look across to his destination, about a hundred meters across thick lines of cable, twisting together, shooting off in all directions. He hoped they would hold his weight and they were properly insulated. For a split second he thought about running, but there was no clear path. One wrong step and he would fall. As much as he hated it, he would have to take this slowly. He had made his decision though. He was going across. He was getting in. No matter what.

Just to be safe, he threw a discarded can at the lines, over towards where the spybots were circling. This did two things. The can bounced harmlessly off the lines tumbling down and down and down until the spybots spotted it, sounding off an alert. One SWATbot took out the can in an instant. Nothing fell to the ground. Sonic sighed. At least the lines were insulated.

There was still the height, but he forced himself to look across to his goal. Just pretend like they're forest vines, he said to himself. He stepped out onto one, hanging on sharply as it dipped under his weight. For one frightening moment he had the strange notion he'd be hanging down low enough just over the SWATbots heads, just long enough for them to shoot him before he went sling-shoting up into the air. Comical but not comforting. He didn't go so low though and he waited until it stopped shaking so much. C'mon, he told himself, don't stop.

He swung and leapt, always a hand on one of the cables. Sometimes he had to duck and squeeze through a tangle of them, and he slipped once or twice, but he held his grip and managed to keep going. When he reached the other side, he allowed himself a moment for all the nervousness to shake off his body. He didn't look back and double-checked for any bots. Nothing. It worried him slightly, but only before he could look at the time on his wrist-watch. This was taking too long. He ran up to the nearest door and listened in. He tried the handle. Locked. He stepped back and called forth his guitar. He probably had enough energy for a few good shots. He aimed carefully and shot off the lock, catching it before it hit the ground and placing it there gently. Bingo.

He called back his guitar and ducked inside. Not much had changed since the last time he was here. It seemed the majority of the security was still on the outside and he liked it that way.

Sonic allowed himself some speed, making his way downstairs. He was a blur so fast he was almost like a gale that had broken inside, blowing wires and an occasional bot off-balance. He screeched to a halt when he arrived near the holding cells. He peered down onto the ground floor from around a corner. Five bots in a row, blocking the hallway. Not bad, except for the one in the center. His eyes widened. It couldn't be, could it?

The short robot paced back and forth. His grim facial features and general snobby demeanor made him stick out from the others easily. Agent M. Ugh. If there was one thing Sonic hated more than a robot, it was a robot with a personality. If you could call being a stuck-up moron a personality, of course. It seemed his not-so-favorite robot had gotten a second chance from Robotnik after all, although he noted the addition of a red letter "F" riveted on his chest. He smirked. He couldn't resist this.

"Hey, Agent Failure! Up here!" He leaned against the wall and made a rude gesture.

The bot's eyes glowed. The others raised their weapons but he held up a hand. "Stand down. He is mine." He drew a small device from behind his back. Click. A laser formed through a ruby center into a beam of light. He pointed the sword at Sonic.

"Uh-oh, looks like someone got an upgrade with his demotion." He flew up and Sonic just barely dodged before the bot slashed through the wall. He only had a second before he retracted the blade and turned.

"Still sore about being demoted?" Sonic said giving him a sharp kick before he could release it again. A nice dent in the side of his head, sending sparks flying. Sonic groaned a little and hopped back on his other foot, his left one stinging. Definitely been upgraded in the body armor too. Probably not the smartest move.

"Not as sore as you will be," he returned, Sonic instincively bending backwards, feeling the whoosh of the searing blade just an inch above his soft chest. He could feel the heat and tried not to imagine the thing gutting him open like a trout. He flipped backwards and slipped down off the edge, hanging briefly before dropping to the ground floor. The other bots rushed at him, guns firing.

No room to run so he tucked into a super spin, whirling into a blue tornado. In the small space its power amplified. He blasted through them, sending them flying against the walls. He pulled out of it, wheezing a bit. A shot had grazed his shoulder, but it was only burned, singed black, not deep enough to cut or worse. That didn't mean that it didn't hurt. He gritted his teeth, yearning for a cold faucet to run it under. In his mind it was on fire.

This small hesistation nearly cost him. He danced back just as the blade would have neatly sliced off his arm at the elbow, holding his arm protectively to his chest. He swept his leg under M's feet and the bot tumbled forward. He reared one leg up and slammed it down on the back of M's skull, driving him hard to the ground, the bot's torso landing square on the laser sword, driving through his back.

"You're nothing but a sore loser." Sonic relished in the bubbling hiss of metal melting under the pressure and stepped back. M flailed, but any words were lost. Sonic didn't have any more time for this. Not even looking back to see if M would get up for more, Sonic took off down the hall, dodging the shattered SWATbot parts. He had wasted too much time already.

In his rush he didn't so much as slow as he passed the cells, his worst fear realized. By the time he got to the end of the hall despair overtook him. All the cells were empty. They were already at the Roboticizer. His medallion glowed a neon blue as he blasted through the locked doors at the end of the hallway.

More guards awaited him, but they barely knew someone had broken in before he was further down, and all it registered to them was a violent wind had blasted through. They foolishly ran back towards the source, but Sonic continued deeper into the compound, down to the center, what had been labeled on the schematics as the arena, even though the only viewing area was a long, one-sided mirror on the far side. Robotnik liked to watch apparently. Would he be there behind the glass? Sonic hoped so. He'd love to break through it and shove him into it. If only…

No, he had to focus. Get all 27 out. That's the only objective. Revenge was for later, when he didn't have so many depending on his success.

Familiar chills washed over him when he reached the area. Six sets of doors and any one could be under heavy guard. He stood at the rear, out of sight behind the massive Roboticizer itself. Surely by this time he knew he couldn't surprise anyone, but he had to try. He had taken a risk engaging Agent M, but at this point he couldn't change anything. He'd have to hope they could either fight their way out or find an escape route. He hoped for the latter, he was getting tired.

He almost turned back to ask Manic if he could scramble the Roboticizer while he got everyone off, but stopped, remembering again that he was utterly alone. He needed them here. Why couldn't they have seen how important this was. Knux could hold out – and the sewers wouldn't fill up that quick with whatever was poisoning them, but their friends, the people they had been closest too for so long, had so little time left. He checked his watch.

As if in agreement, rumbling echoed and the floor under him swayed like an earthquake. He could feel the thundering tones pounding in his chest, almost like the bass tones at one of their concerts, but this only filled him with dread. He knew it too well. His breath caught in his throat. It was the sound of the roboticization chamber pounding down on the conveyer belt, taking whatever life was there and snuffing it out under a complex web of machinery, cold and indifferent. That's when the screaming started.

It was happening all over again.

His hands shook slightly as he tried the door. C'mon hedgehog, get a grip. It's okay to be scared, just don't let it stop you from moving forward. Face it. The medallion glowed softly in reply. He pulled open the doors, rushing inside.

"PRIORITY ONE, HEDGEHOG!"

Sonic didn't stop for the bots, barely even noticed their fire. He was heading full speed for the front of the line. Soon he couldn't hear anything else over the thundering industrial Roboticizer and the shrieking of its victims.

Caleb, one of Manic's buds, was first in line, ankles locked down, hardly able to stand up as the belt jerked him along, his mouth open wide, eyes even wider. His scream drowned in the grinding gears and an explosion of steam. Tens of hands reached out to Sonic as he passed to get to him. "Help me! Help me! Sonic! Stop!" No, he thought, don't stop me! I have to help him first. Caleb saw him, he was calling his name, one arm reaching as the other tried to break open the shackles at his ankles.

Sonic leaped.

Caleb disappeared instantly under shadow as a metal capsule slammed down onto the belt, Sonic's face slamming into it as the belt jerked to a halt. The rumble reverberated down the belt, knocking everyone off-balance. For a moment he could hear Caleb from behind the thick steel alloy. He howled a mournful cry, cut off near the end as the process began. The howl ripped through Sonic's soul, a tear running down his cheek. Too slow. Too late.

Someone pulled him back. He looked back to see who it was.

Trevor. He hadn't even seen him there, hadn't recognized his own best friend without his glasses, hadn't known it was him by how frightened he looked.

"Hurry!" Trevor's mouth moved, even though he couldn't hear him.

Sonic steeled himself, anger flowing through him like quicksilver, burning fiercely. He triple-spinned him free just as the capsule lifted and the belt shot forward again. They were thrown off opposite sides. When Sonic got to his feet he looked down the belt.

Caleb, no longer flesh, stared off into space, silent and motionless in all of the insanity. A sliver of light fell across his metallic features as the belt moved him along, until he was lost in shadow, moving further down the line. More tears fell down Sonic's face as he saw Caleb wasn't alone on the other side. He hadn't lost one friend. He had lost three of them already, each standing still and apart like tombstones in the dim light.

A hand on his shoulder yanked him down, laser fire hitting the edge of the conveyer belt. His head rapped against the floor. He saw briefly the form of their friend Paola shooting forward, her hands raised, as if she could stop the machine. It slammed down around her. She screamed like her body was being ripped apart.

"Sonic!" Trevor had to yell to be heard, his fingers digging into Sonic's arm. He was shaking. "We gotta stop it!"

They pulled themselves to their feet, dodging laser-fire by disappearing under the conveyor belt. It shuddered to life again.

Sonic took Trevor by his shoulders, "Cyrus. Where's Cyrus?"

Trevor shook his head. "No time!"

"He can stop it!"

"We're losing everyone!"

"Don't you think I know that!"

They went quiet as another scream echoed inside the capsule.

"I'll try to free them," Trevor said, "but try to get a laser from-"

Sonic was gone. He sliced through the SWATbots like they were cardboard cut-outs. The wake of his wind whipped up everything in the room, causing a rumble on top of everything else. In his anger Sonic's medallion sparked. He roared as he ripped off a SWATbot laser from it's hand, taking the arm with it. He regarded it only vaguely, as if in a dream, running back to Trevor. The hand-off was swift as he dove back into the fray.

Another had gone through. Suzie, better known as Specs – the only trained doctor in the Resistance. Lost. Her bright pink glasses were nearby. She'd never wear them again. Trevor put them in his pocket and leapt onto the belt. He exchanged a brief glance with Sonic.

They nodded to each other and Sonic was back into the fray of bots.

Soon he couldn't hear anything, everything had merged together into a roar. All he knew was the beating of his heart, pounding loudest in his ears, and his own ragged breaths. In and out. In and out. He had never moved with such quickness and yet he had never felt so utterly exhausted. The two sides of himself pulled at him. The images of his friends lost haunted him. He couldn't stop seeing them. It was his fault. All his fault.

Frustration released in his powerful kicks. Now when he felt pain it gave him an odd burst of pleasure. He tore into the robots with his triple spin, leaving only gaping holes where he had exploded through. His rage built and built until he lost control of himself.

At one point all he knew was a bright light and then someone grabbing him by the arms. They weren't robotic so he allowed it. His arms felt so heavy.

It wasn't until the made it out of the room that he came back to his senses, and even then he couldn't understand the words being shouted at him. It felt like someone had stuffed cotton into his ears. His feet came back to him first, as always and he found himself running, on what, he had no clue. He just ran, just as he always did. Running was what he was good at after all. It was instinct.

He followed through dark tunnels and as they finally emerged he could hear the beginning of voices. There was a hand across his back. He turned to his left. It was Cyrus. "It's okay." He couldn't hear Cyrus's voice, but he knew that was what he had said. And, somehow, that was okay. His face was tear-strained and reddened, but he was okay. He could dimly hear other voices as they rushed together as one, in groups of twos and threes. He couldn't tell how many, but he knew it wasn't everyone.

"I'm sorry," Sonic said, his voice hoarse and not sounding at all like himself.

"Don't be." These words he did hear. Another hand. This one was Trevor's. It was then he realized he wasn't running after all. He was being carried between them.

"How many, Trev?" Sonic could barely form the words.

A moment of silence that could have been a minute. Sonic felt naseous.

"Eighteen."

How many times does eighteen go into twenty-seven? Sonic said to himself as he tumbled backwards into unconsciousness again. Whatever the answer was, it would never be enough.

* * *

Author's Note:

Yeah I'm a slow-moe when it comes to updates! Original stuff first though. Know that this isn't abandoned and I will finish. I've got the next two chapters in the works. Not sure how long this will be yet but I know for sure it won't be over 20. It's a longer one, but sort of think of it as several Sonic Underground episodes strung together. It's a four-parter! It's been a lot of fun writing this one. I love these characters. I hope you're enjoying the ride too.

- Joanie


	7. Chaos in Sewer Central

**Chapter Seven: "Chaos in Sewer Central"**

Manic ran through the familiar alleys of Sewer Central, his hover-board strapped to his back. Although the underground city had plenty of space horizontally, the ceilings were low and the buildings were close together, making flight not only dangerous but claustrophobic as well. Colorful fabrics, bells and chimes hung above him, suspended from thin cords and flowing freely from windows. Within the air was a hint of spices and incense, just enough to take the edge off the stench of sewer water that flowed through the canals of the city.

At times like these Manic envied his brother's speed, but he tried not to think of him too much. It hurt to. Sonic always said he cared, but did he really? Maybe all Manic was to him was just a friend, but never a brother. Sonic cared about all of his old friends more than he did about him. That's what hurt most of all. And Sonia! She always had something to say to him, but would she ever listen to what he had to say? Of course not.

Manic sighed. He had more important things to deal with right now. He couldn't let anything stop him from warning everyone. To do that, he had to go straight to the source.

Those who saw him immediately stepped out of his way. It had never been like that for him growing up down here. He had always been in the way. But now that everyone knew he was a prince they treated him differently. He wished they wouldn't. He wasn't really a prince the same way that Sonia and Sonic acted like (sometimes). Manic was… just himself. He didn't get the whole "mind your manners" schtick. He would never put on a face around someone rich like Bartleby – he'd treat him just like anyone else. If he had his way someday, that's how everyone would act: as equals.

So it wasn't surprising that the crowds parted for him in front of the Palace of Thieves, which, for its title, didn't match the exterior. All the buildings down here were ruins of an ancient race of cave-dwellers, long since run out by the city above, way before it ever became Robotropolis, even before it was Mobotropolis. The Thief Community merely took advantage of what had already been down there for centuries. This adobe brick building looked ordinary from the outside save for a tattered flag hanging at a second-story window displaying the hastily inked crest of the Forty Thieves that had been used for centuries as a symbol of safety to those leaving under society's thumb.

Thankfully the Forty were in session at the time he arrived. It explained the crowd gathered outside waiting for their news report. He was ushered inside, passing from hand to hand to hand along a dark corridor brimming with incense brewed to calm troubled nerves. He allowed himself to catch his breath, the sandalwood and tea leaves soothing his nose. He took a deep breath as he stopped outside a heavily-curtained entranceway.

"Prince Manic has come seeking an audience," a woman announced, peeling back the curtains.

Here goes, Manic thought, and passed through to the inner chamber.

The Forty stood from their chairs, arranged haphazardly around a series of low tables covered with Arabic-style coffee pots, teapots and smoking braziers, and incense pots. Some of the faces were smiling and welcoming but more than a few scowled at him. There were cheers of welcome but also a loud, "What is it this time?"

One of the members walked forward and offered a brief bow. He was an older mole who was missing an eye. He handed Manic an old wooden staff carved with many notches, leather straps hanging off of it.

Manic tightened his hand around the leather handle. He held the floor now. He used a moment more to catch his breath. They waited as he straightened up again.

"It's Robotnik. He's got this machine over in Sector 36, by the Main Street Bridge." He took another breath, he had gone a bit too fast, "Long story short, it's pumping some bad chemicals into the tunnels. We have to find a way to seal it off before it gets to Central and into the water tables under here."

He was half-relieved as the room, which had gone silent during his speech, erupted into fierce conversation.

A tiger roared them into silence, baring his gold teeth, "If what the Prince says is true, we must assemble teams immediately to seal the section off and evacuate everyone."

"What if he's lying!" A raccoon said, standing tall, his finger pointing accusingly at Manic.

"The Prince does not lie," An ant woman stood between them, "Aleena said we can trust her children. Have they not done enough already to prove their loyalty?"

More conversation flowed rapidly between the tables, many in agreement.

"Listen, I may have a royal title," Manic said holding the staff high, "But down here is my home. I grew up on these streets. I'd do anything to keep them safe."

The mole motioned to Manic for the staff. He handed it to him, "My friends, our young one is correct. Even if there is nothing to this, it is our duty to make sure our friends and family are safe. William, gather the steel workers. Seal off the tunnels leading to Sector 36."

"The stuff is giving off a gas," Manic warned, "Some kind of industrial acid. You might need protection."

"Thank you," the mole replied. He nodded to another member, a short rat, who nodded in return.

The mole laid down the staff on the center table and all of the Forty Thieves stood and parted ways, immediately setting about tasks, some leaving quickly and others lingering. The whole chamber echoed once more with activity.

"I have to go," Manic said to the old mole, "thanks for listening."

"Thank you, your highness." The mole bowed respectfully.

"Please, just Manic."

"Oh! I just remembered, I saw your mother this week."

"I didn't think mom would ever step foot somewhere like this," Manic said, considering the possibility that he could have passed her so many times running up and down these narrow streets.

"She comes down here occasionally to rest for an evening. She never stays long, but she always asks if I have seen you. I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner."

"S'alright," Manic said, shoving his hands in his vest pockets. Lately it seemed everyone else had seen more of his own mother than he had. He clenched the inner fabric of his pockets, rubbing the material between his fingers. He hated this prophecy. Everything about it. Especially the waiting. Waiting for what and when? Would the prophecy ever come true?

The mole put his arm around Manic, giving him a brief hug. "She sends her love, young one. Don't despair."

"Thanks," Manic mumbled, unsure of what else to say.

The mole spoke more quietly, just loudly enough for Manic to hear, "As much as I love this place, my dream is to someday be able to walk the surface again. To feel the warmth of sunshine on my face. What do you dream of, Manic?"

Manic shrugged, slipping a hand in his fanny pack to grab his drumsticks. He needed something to twirl. Adult conversations could be so awkward sometimes. Manic rapped them against the edge of one of the tables. It was so quiet in here now.

"Think about it," the mole said and when Manic looked up to reply he was gone, the room nearly empty as everyone headed out. Manic took a deep breath and left as well. Once he was out of the narrow streets he hopped back onto his board and raced off. He still had work to do, with or without his sibling's help.

* * *

Vincent Pavlov supposed wearing an ugly gas mask was a fair price to pay for a spotless sewer. At least there was no one down here to see him wearing it. Plus, he would finally be free of riff-raffs of every sort, including the thieves that infested every corner of the city's underground. He grinned underneath the mask, watching the industrial strength cleaner dissolve centuries of grease and grime, toxic wisps rising up.

Robotnik had been very pleased that he had openly volunteered out of all his aristocratic spies. But Vincent had to. He had to silence the aristocrats mocking him. They had spread rumors that he was actually a smelly sewer rat and not a noble mouse of good pedigree. Rats could never be noblemen. But, a sewer rat would never be able to destroy his home, would he? Thusly by destroying the sewers, he would prove to all of them his true nobility. Likewise, the riff-raff down here would pay for their years of insults, joking that he could never rise above the life of a beggar. After all, they can't laugh if they can't even take a breath.

He turned to the head SWATbot. "How much longer is this going to take?"

A series of beeps echoed and then, "Sewer cleansing at 7.8%. Estimated completion in 2 hours, 36 minutes and 28 seconds."

"Can't you make this thing go any faster?"

"Maximum settings increase the probability of pipe containment failure by 53%."

"So a few pipes burst? What does that matter?"

"Probability of Robotropolis water table contamination increases to 85% and chance of long-term side effects increases to 99.9%."

"Ha! A few more people will just have to drink bottled water. That's not my problem. Make it go faster."

"Requested protocol requires confirmation from Supreme Emperor Robotnik."

"Oh I see, so you want me to tell Dr. Robotnik that you're the one that slowed down his operation?"

"Negative. Increasing speed to maximum effective immediately."

Vinny grinned. Who ever said dealing with technology was difficult? You just had to know how to threaten it properly to get it to do what you wanted. He watched the SWATbot do his dirty work for him.

* * *

This time Manic wasn't taking chances. He met up with the patrol that was going to seal the doors and suited up with some protective gear, including a gas mask to filter the air so he could survive in there. They encouraged him to stick around and learn a thing or two about welding but he declined, slipping on his protective gear. When he finished he climbed up into the pipe they were preparing to seal off.

"What are you doing? We're sealing it!"

"This seal won't do you guys any good if I don't stop the machine that's causing all of this."

"Even so, you shouldn't go alone," one of the workers said, grabbing his shoulder, "It's too dangerous."

"Don't worry about me. Worry about getting everyone clear of this sector and getting it sealed up."

The tall otter stared at him for a moment more, and then let him go, standing back from the pipe, perhaps sensing he wasn't going to change the young prince's mind. They all wished him well as he darted into the pipe, heading deep into the sector. Behind him they rolled the metal cover into place and begain welding it shut, sparks flying.

Manic knew there was no turning back now.

Finding his way there was too easy. Once he found one pipe flowing with industrial cleaner, it wasn't too hard to trace it back. Every chance he got, he popped open a manhole cover, hoping it would help vent out the gas.

While flipping one out he heard something. He stilled the manhole cover, and ducked back down, hanging onto the ladder. The gas mask muffled his hearing after all. Perhaps it had just been his imagination?

No, it was someone coughing! Manic leapt down and raced in the direction of the sound. Around the corner he found a small canine boy on his knees, coughing and sputtering. He knelt down to him, but the boy screamed and backed away. Manic quickly realized his gas mask was frightening him.

"It's okay," Manic squatted down and held out a hand to him, "I'm one of the good guys. You gotta get outta here or this gas is gonna hurt you. Understand?"

The little one shook his head. Manic sighed. He didn't want to do this, but the kid had to get out or he would die. He scooped up the kid who kicked and squealed. Manic held onto him, wishing Sonia was here to help. He would have listened to her. All the kids in Sanctuary listened to her when she asked them to do something. Manic was good with kids too, but he couldn't blame the kid for not trusting him when he's wearing an ugly gas mask.

Climbing the ladder with a squirming kid wasn't as easy as he hoped but he let the kid slip free as soon as they were up. The kid didn't make it far, he stumbled and fell, coughing and wheezing. Manic knelt down next to him, removing his mask.

"Sorry kid, but I had to pull you outta there."

He looked up at Manic, a mixture of relief and anger on his face. He didn't reply.

"Everyone's sealing up Sector 36 to stop that gunk, but you'll be safe if you head back to Sewer Central."

"How did you know I'm from Sewer Central?" the boy asked.

"I was on Mouse Patrol too when I was your age," Manic said with a grin.

"But I never said I was…"

Manic had already disappeared back into the manhole. The boy looked around briefly to get his bearings and snuck away into the shadows, heading deeper into the city.

* * *

Manic hurried, hoping he wouldn't find anyone else trapped down here. The further he went, the thicker the cloud of toxic fumes. If anyone was trapped in here, there was nothing he could do for them now. Even flipping open the manhole covers didn't seem to help further in so he stopped. A few times he ran into a dead end due to the thickness of the toxic cloud forming. He could barely see.

When he came to a wide opening with four possible pathways, he tapped the side of his mask and a readout displayed. He turned his head back and forth, the mask analyzing the density of the gas. His eyes shifted to the battery reading as well. He had only half an hour before he'd have to return to the surface. After a moment of indecision he settled on a direction.

He had chosen correctly.

A few moments later he heard the familiar noise of the industrial cleaning machine. This time he was prepared though. He pulled out a crescent wrench from his fanny pack. He'd just make a few "adjustments" on the machine and he'd be out of here before they even knew he had arrived. The thick cloud was working to his advantage as well. He felt along the walls, stepping quietly.

Red trails lights cut through the foggy atmosphere were the eyes of the SWATbots sweeping back and forth. He moved with careful precision, avoiding their line of sight. That is until a red beam settled on his chest. He held his breath, unable to move. If the bot shot him at this range, it was game over permanently. His breath, wheezing through the mask, sounded ten times louder than it actually was. He didn't know how long he actually stood there until the eyes passed on due to a loud clattering. Manic didn't wait and ran towards the sound of the thundering machines.

His outstretched hands slammed into something metallic, banging slightly. He fumbled and moved to get around behind whatever it was as heavy footsteps stomped towards him. He slipped against the wall and allowed himself a sigh, holding his forehead.

Gotta make this quick, he told himself as he touched his medallion and it glowed softly like a flashlight. He felt along the rumbling machine for an access panel. It didn't take him long to find exactly what he was looking for. He wrenched off the nuts and carefully laid down the panel, leaning it against the bricked sewer wall. The green light of his medallion illuminated the inside as he poked his head in, replacing his wrench with an omni-tool, Two clicks and he flicked out a mini-screwdriver and a pair of wire snips. His protective rubber gloves insulated him from any shocks as he clipped, ripped and snipped his way through. He popped out a handful of brand new fuses, shoving them into his fanny pack. You never knew when they could come in handy.

Almost immediately the machine died down. He wanted to do some more damage but knew he had to get out before the toxic cloud cleared and they caught him mid-sabotage. He pocketed his tool and felt along the wall. If he could just get back to the other side of the tunnel he'd be fine. He could get out the same way he escaped earlier, picturing the manhole clearly in his mind.

A wall blocked his way. No, it wasn't a wall, it was three SWATbots, their backs turned to him. He backed up a moment, but then an idea came to his mind. Too easy. He pulled out his wrench and did what he did best.

A few quick knocks sent them bumping into each other and tumbling down into a pile on the floor, Manic leaping onto them before they knew what happened. He was practically home free now!

One step away from the edge something grabbed him from behind. Manic struggled and stomped down on hard on the rat's foot. The rat yelped and let him go and Manic leapt blindly across the pipe, using his hoverboard as a shield. He banged into the wall, but was free and still standing, albeit a little dizzy.

"Tell Dr. Robotnik to keep his dirty hands out of our sewer!" Manic yelled through the mask as he stumbled down the tunnel towards the manhole ladder that he knew was just around the corner.

There it was! He found it! Manic scurried up, but his hand slammed painfully into the lid. What? He winced, pushing against it. It wouldn't budge! He pulled back and tried shoving his body weight against it. No! It was jammed. He banged against it again and again, panic taking over. Why would anyone…? Then he stopped. Oh no, they had figured he might come back, probably with help. He felt around the edge and saw that it was welded shut. Had he checked the manholes closer to here, he would have found the same result, but he hadn't. He had rushed in, just as badly as his brother would have.

No matter, he'd find another way out.

Manic slid down the ladder only to find himself surrounded, red laser dots all over his chest. The fancy-dressed rat shoved past them and grabbed Manic by his vest.

"If you have a complaint, you little wretch, you'll have to speak to the doctor personally. But this one is for my foot!"

Manic's head rapped against the metallic ladder and he slumped in the rat's grip.


	8. Paradise Lost

**Chapter Eight: "Paradise Lost"**

The morning sun rose above the endless horizon of ocean waves. Its light once again gave form to the dark shadow that hovered high above the water. Within moments the light revealed a massive island floating impossibly in the dawn sky.

At first only the island's craggy underside was visible. Towering waterfalls created rainbows that stretched between the towering stalactites. The light climbed higher up over the edge of the island, following the rivers inwards. Slowly light illuminated each of the island's exotic locales: tropical rainforests; gleaming ice caps; a crystal-clear lake and a sprawling desert vista. As sun rose further, the island's centerpiece, the volcanic mountains, came into view. A careful observer could even spot the colorful stonework of the ancient Echidnan temple resting near the base of the tallest peak.

This place was legendary – the greatest wonder of the planet Mobius: The Floating Island.

However, this particular morning another dark shape fought for dominance on the horizon. The elongated aerial battleship cast an unnatural shadow over the Floating Island as it hovered into position. Almost immediately several aircraft launched off its wide platform. They landed in a row along the edge of the rainforests covering most of the island. Their gangplanks lowered in synchronized motion.

Within minutes Dr. Robotnik's SWATbots swarmed the Floating Island like an army of insects, trampling the landscape. Smaller stealth planes launched as well, soaring through the sky, leaving thick trails of smog hanging in their wake. All these troops were programmed to hunt down the island's solitary Guardian, Knuckles the Echidna.

His great-grandfather Athair had forewarned Knuckles of the invasion after awakening from a vision in his daily meditation. Together they were the last of their ancient race, tasked with keeping safe the ultimate treasure of the Floating Island, the Master Emerald.

Controller of all the chaos emeralds and an ancient source of magical energy, the Master Emerald gave the Floating Island its ability to fly. Without its mystical power, the island would plunge into the depths of the ocean. It had once before, but Knuckles promised himself and Athair that he would never let it happen again.

As soon as he spotted the aerial battleship on the horizon, Knuckles had leapt off the mountain and glided down to the temple. His red dreadlocks flowed behind him, catching the warm air. He landed on the ground and raced inside the wide temple gates. Using his strength and the temple's gear system, he lowered the seven heavy stone gates; a feat that would have taken five normal echidnas to accomplish. The ancient walls were enforced by several layers of thick hand-carved stone bricks. With the seven gates closed, now the only way in and out was a shimmering portal behind the Master Emerald on the northern wall, one of many mystical portals scattered across the Island.

Knuckles spent a moment more with the Master Emerald, placing his palm against its glowing surface. The power flowed through him, calming his nerves.

He hated leaving it here without his protection. But he also knew Robotnik's clumsy robots would never find a way inside here. Only Knuckles knew of the other portal's location. Even if the bots did stumble upon it, Athair had cast an enchantment on the portal so that any robot who stepped through the portal would be dumped out through portal under the island, down to the ocean far below. Knuckles thought it was a rather clever way of getting rid of unwanted mechanical intruders. However, regardless of these precautions, he still worried. He wanted to keep his promise more than anything.

But Knuckles had to go. After all, he had traps to attend to.

* * *

The teenage echidna was a red blur in the forest, never lingering long enough to raise more than a blip on a robot's radar. He wasn't nearly as fast as his friend Sonic, but he could keep up with him if he wanted and his powerful strength and ability to glide through the air currents over the island, more than made up for a very slight lack of speed in his humble opinion.

Knuckles had to stifle his laughter as he watched the line of marching bots suddenly slip from view, falling into a deep pit of spikes. Not only that but the next couple kept walking right in after them! They finally noticed and the entire company came to a halt. Reaching behind him, Knuckles unwound a rope from a branch and tugged it sharply.

The bots looked up just in time to see boulders on the three remaining sides of the trail rolling toward them. Stuck between being squished by the boulders or falling into the pit, many of them bumped into each other in their confusion. This hesitation allowed the boulders to smash the first ones in the way and push the rest into the pit. Pillars of smoke began to rise from it. Knuckles allowed himself a loud laugh now as he rushed to the pit's edge to view his handiwork. All of them were deactivating, sparks flying, impaled by the sharpened logs lodged in the pit's bottom.

"C'mon, is this the best you've got, Robotnik?" Knuckles shouted. Athair had completely overestimated Robotnik's forces. They were a pushover, at best.

All his breath wrenched from him as the Stealthbot claw squeezed him. He was up in the air before he realized what had happened, hundreds of feet from the ground.

"PRIORITY ONE: GUARDIAN APPREHENDED."

"That's what you… think!" Knuckles dented the robotic cockpit with a single powerful punch. "Uh-oh," Knuckles amended, realizing he just took out the navigational system keeping the bot in the air. The bot careened out of control without a guidance system to correct its movements, jerking back and forth, effectively shaking the Guardian like a soda can. Knuckles could see well enough to realize they were headed straight for the mountains. He had only seconds before he wind up a red smudge on the mountainside.

Grunting under the strain he finally pried open the claw with all his strength, slipping out of the bot's grip. He plummeted towards the forest canopy as the bot surged forward and crashed into the mountainside, the resulting explosion loud enough to alert all of the troops about his location. He had more important things to worry about at the moment - like not breaking his neck!

He was falling too fast to get enough air to glide on, although his attempts to right himself slowed his fall considerably. Instinct took over as he neared the trees. The echidna curled himself into a protective ball, breaking through branches all the way down, until he hit a more solid one with his shoulder, uncurling and finally crashing onto the ground. He moaned, clutching his arm. Damnit! Was it broken? He laid there for a few moments, trying to get his breathing under control. He closed his eyes and began to meditate, the sounds of the forest filled his ears, calming him. Gradually the pain ebbed for the moment and he carefully sat up, taking in his surroundings.

"Must be somewhere on the north side."

He stretched his arm. The pain was sharp, but he didn't think it was broken. More than likely sprained though. He couldn't know for sure. Either way he wouldn't be favoring his left hook for a while. But he'd be fine. He sighed. He had let his guard down for one moment and nearly ruined everything. He hadn't even sensed the bot coming. Those flying robots were nearly silent on approach and that worried him. Last time Robotnik had invaded the island, he had only brought ground troops.

He had underestimated Robotnik, and it had almost cost him his life.

Twigs snapped nearby. He scrambled to the top of the nearest tree, wincing as he punched his sharp knuckles into the bark to gain more purchase as he climbed. He sat on a sturdy branch and leaned against the trunk. He watched the SWATbot battalion stomp by, probably checking up on the crashed bot. He confirmed this as they headed up the mountainside. They weren't they only ones though. He could sense more movement nearby, snapping branches. A few trees fell in succession, causing rumbles that he could feel through the bark. These ground troops were anything but stealthy, clearing through any tree, rock or bush that stood in their path. At least that made them easy to track.

This time he scanned the sky for any more Stealthbots before leaping off the highest branch. He glided away from the area in case they doubled back looking for him.

He stopped short of the edge of the forest, landing carefully behind a rocky outcropping. As he stood in its dark shadow, he observed the assault forces marching onto the island. It seemed Robotnik had sent every available robot he had to invade the Floating Island to retrieve the Master Emerald. He frowned. The other traps he had set around the island would at most take out only a few hundred of Robotnik's troops, if that. He could maybe take out some small groups himself, but what then? What if they converged together?

Knuckles wasn't the kind to give up without a fight, regardless of the odds. But he wasn't stupid either. He knew better than to take on a whole army by himself, especially since he was injured. For now, he was staying out of their way.

Knuckles wrestled with several different ideas as he avoided the robot patrols. But each idea left open the possibility of him becoming quickly outnumbered, exhausted or surrounded.

As he thought, words came to mind, lyrics that had long echoed through his memories:

_No one, no one is an island... _

_No one, no one stands alone..._

He hated to admit it, but he knew he needed help to clear this menace from his home. He knew who to call: the Sonic Underground.

A team of SWATbots approached. He dove under some bushy cover and kept his belly low to the ground, breathing silently.

Robotnik's voice crackled over the SWATbot's radio, "Attention all squadrons! Create a tight perimeter around the main temple. That will draw that gullible Guardian out of hiding."

_Why is Robotnik looking for me? _Knuckles supposed Robotnik was going to try force him to hand over the Master Emerald. That was laughable, but what was stranger was they hadn't even tried to break into the Temple and take the Master Emerald, so why would they bother finding its Guardian? This didn't make any sense to him. It's like they weren't even trying to find it on their own.

If he wanted to call his friends, he knew he had better do it before these guys had the whole area occupied. He gazed into the distance through the trees, spotting the roof of the small house he called home. The robots were ignoring it for the moment, heading for the temple just through the forest. If he could get to his house, he could make the call.

He had a communication station there for such a situation as this. At first Knuckles had berated the hedgehogs for butting in on his life, but he had finally relented and let Manic install the rickety contraption after they convinced him it was mainly to stay in contact in case they needed his help again. Usually when they called though they had nothing important to say, merely wishing to "check up on him" and talk. Knuckles had been alone for most of his life, save for Athair and occasional visits from Queen Aleena, so it was an odd experience to have friends who called him just to say "hello." Secretly though, he enjoyed this attention. He wished they would visit more often. He was far too proud to ask them though.

Laser-fire grazed his shoulder. He looked behind him long enough to see another Stealthbot barreling down on him with an open claw before he dived down, sliding against the grass. A blast of wind ruffled his dreadlocked quills. The heat from the engine burned at his fur. It soared up and prepared to make a second pass, but Knuckles was already on his feet as he tore across the last hundred meters to his house. He reared back his fist and broke down the wooden door, slipping on the soft rug in his rush, banging into the communication station.

He slammed his fist down on the power button, watching the screen flicker on. "Boot up!" He screamed to it, but it only continued to load very slowly. Lasers fired. His window shattered, spraying glass. He had to lead them away!

Knuckles ran outside, immediately surrounded by troops. He growled. Twirling his arms until they became a blur, he lunged towards them. They fell one by one as he cut through them. He ducked their laser blasts until one bot managed to grab his injured arm. He winced. Big mistake! He swung his right and connected so hard that his fist shot straight though its chest cavity. It let go immediately. Wires pulled free, sparking, as he ripped his right arm back from what was left of its chest. Although his left arm burned like it was on fire he didn't linger. He leapt over the falling bot, racing deep into the forest, glancing back every few seconds to make sure the rest of them followed him.

After he led them a fair distance from his house, he dug a tunnel just off the path, sealing the top. The earth shook as they stomped by in pursuit. Pressing his head against the soft dirt he listened as they continued on. Again he spun his arms until they moved at super speed, digging back up through the ground. He didn't look back as he raced towards his house, holding his arm.

The console had finally booted. He hurriedly punched in the frequency for the Underground. A small window appeared showing himself live in the camera. He didn't look so great at the moment and he brushed the debris out of his dreads. A variety of sticks and leaves fell to the floor. He could hear his own voice breathing in long pants, and noticed the tiredness in his eyes. Knuckles turned as he heard another patrol coming closer. He flipped a switch on the console and picked up a manual phone receiver, ducking down and holding it close to him. Just great. His trick hadn't worked. They had doubled back and they were surrounding his house.

"CONNECTING…" The screen showed a loading bar. Knuckles leaned against the console. Hurry up! Soft dial tones played in the receiver. Finally it connected, producing a soft beep. He stood up carefully, watching for any bots.

He nearly lost his breath again when he saw the video finally connect, showing a familiar, but worried, face staring at him. He hadn't expected Sonia to answer the phone. Usually Sonic did.

For a moment he couldn't speak. He wasn't prepared for this. He could hide his fears from Sonic but not Sonia. They had always been honest with each other. At the same time he felt embarrassed. He didn't want her to think he wasn't capable of defending his home, but what choice did he have now? He was in trouble. He had called them. He couldn't just say oops, sorry, wrong number guys. No turning back now.

"It's not easy for me to say this." He could feel the beads of sweat dripping down his face. He refused to wipe them away. Not in front of her.

Sonia's eyes were full of concern. He knew could trust her. "But I'm in over my head up here, Sonia. I…" Just say it, he told himself. It's not that hard. I need help. Just say it!

He choked on his words as he saw Manic and Sonic walked into the frame as well. The words swelled up within him for a few more moments. His other two friends didn't look so great either, he could see the stress clearly on their faces. He finally blurted, "I need help!"

A nearby blast rocked his house. He held onto to the console. He couldn't stay here any longer. Make this quick!

Now the Guardian's words flowed freely, "The Island is under attack. I haven't seen so many robots in one place. The traps stopped some of them, but they just keep—"

The ground rocked violently under his feet as the screen fuzzed and the image of his friends disappeared.

No! It had to be just temporarily disabled. He pounded the right side of the console a few times. Normally that was all it took, but this time it remained dormant. He clutched the receiver so tightly he could feel it breaking. "Guys? Hello?"

No one replied.

Knuckles growled fiercely. He threw down the receiver. Damn technology! This time he punched the side of the communication station so hard that it dented and sparks flew out. No! He tried the switches but it remained dead. Again his temper had gotten the better of him.

Another explosion rocked the house, raining down part of his thatched roof. He only briefly hesitated at the door this time, staring at the snowing static on the screen. At last he ran out the door. He didn't look back again, even as his home burst into flames. He could hear them searching for him.

The Floating Island was his home. His paradise. He wouldn't rest until he had taken down every single bot that threatened its safety. But for now, he was being hunted.

Knuckles kept running.

* * *

Sonia couldn't believe her eyes. Robotnik's new battleship was nearly twice the size of his Death Egg, only longer and flat on top this time, allowing him to carry all of his troops. Only a few were patrolling the skies, but she flew in the van low anyway just to be safe. As she brought the flying van higher towards the edge of the island, she switched on Manic's radar scrambler, hoping his latest upgrade would keep them from detecting her entry. Robotnik's forces appeared to be concentrated on the North side of the island, so she came by the South end, easing the van onto the island with the skill she possessed as one of the top pilots in the Resistance.

Once safely on the ground she drove until the trees grew too close together to allow her to drive further. She hopped out and quickly surveyed the area. First she had to hide the van, at least so Robotnik's air forces wouldn't spot it from above.

"Spin and win time!" she announced as she twirled into a circle, picking up so much speed that she became a blur. Carefully she steered her pink tornado along a line of bushes, the branches flying into the air and landing on top of the van, spilling over the sides. Within a minute she had covered the entire van and slowed herself to a stop.

"Whoa," she stumbled about, finally leaning against a tree trunk. She had never tried doing a super spin for that long before. The familiar nausea washed over her and she nearly leaned over to puke, but it passed. She took slow, deep breaths, feeling better with each one. If only Sonic had been here to help.

It occurred to her then that she had rushed in here, something her brother Sonic was prone to do. She sighed. If Sonic was here, he would have found Knuckles by now too. No, she couldn't wish for him now. He made it very clear that there were other things more important than their echidna friend.

But how could he have been so heartless towards her? Of course she cared about the Resistance! Many of their members were her best friends as well. But had he forgotten what had happened the last time Robotnik had gotten his hands on the Master Emerald? The planet had nearly exploded for crying out loud! And Manic, why didn't he understand? He had always been much easier to convince than Sonic, given that he always thought practically.

The bushes rattled. Sonia hid behind a thick trunk. A second later a small bird burst through, chirping loudly, passing by her. She sighed, leaning against the trunk. She had to find Knuckles. No time to waste thinking about her brothers, much as she wished things would have happened differently.

* * *

Knuckles rested briefly in the column's shadow, gazing longingly at the sky. Rosy clouds reflected the light of the morning sun. On any normal day he would have been up here anyway, watching the sunrise. Not today though. He had been denied that pleasure. _Never a moment's rest for the Guardian._

Hiding in plain sight had turned out to be a great idea, but Knuckles knew he wouldn't be able to stay on the temple roof much longer. Many of the patrols were returning from the forest and the ranks had already formed a tight perimeter around the temple. It wouldn't be long before they would tighten their search for him on the mountain itself. He had nowhere left to run.

What bothered Knuckles more though was that all the transmissions and conversations he overheard from this vantage point never even mentioned the Master Emerald. They were all about him. But why?

Searchlights flooded the roof of the temple, blinding him. SWATbots sirens squealed. He backed against the mountainside. Only one way to go now: underground.

"PRIORITY ONE: GUARDIAN!"

Knuckles scaled the steep embankment as shots fired all around him, stopping briefly to tunnel into the mountainside.

The tunnel caved in behind him as he dug forward. The volcanic soil here was too unstable. _Can't stop here!_ If he did, he'd be buried. The air wasn't exactly great in the tunnels and heat from the volcanic interior made it too hot for his liking.

"All units! Switch to deep-scanning infrared!" Dr. Robotnik ordered. "I'll be monitoring your progress from here."

The dictator paced in front of his wall of monitors, each showing a different view of the island. Within moments the biggest central screen updated, displaying a map of varying colors ranging from cold blue to hot red. Although most of the patches of heat were due to volcanic activity, there was only one patch that was moving.

"Ah. There you are." He grinned. "I've got you cornered now, Guardian."

Knuckles's fist broke through the other side of the mountain. He shoved aside the dirt, coughing, getting in a long breath of air. He pulled himself out and winced, resting his arm against his chest. No more digging for today.

Using his right fist to slow his descent, Knuckles slid down the side of the mountain towards the forest below. He landed nimbly and stood up, brushing himself off, shaking the dirt from his dreads. He looked up. Nothing burst out from the mountain. He smirked to himself. _I lost them._

He saw the ropes fall around him a moment before they tightened, binding his arms to his sides. Pain flared in his left arm, bringing him to his knees as the robots came closer. His shoulder stung. A tranquilizer dart had lodged into his shoulder. He cried out, gritting his teeth. A wave of dizziness passed over him, but he shook it off and forced himself to his feet. Another had struck his leg as he looked down and then a third hit his neck. That last one finished him off. In that moment he knew he wouldn't break free this time. He sighed as all the pain faded into a rush of numbness, tingling through his limbs. He welcomed the oncoming darkness with relief as he fell forward.

* * *

"Guardian apprehended. All squads return to base camp," the SWATbot leader ordered his squadron. They marched in single file through the forest.

Sonia crouched high in a tree as she overhead its transmission. Oh no! She had to rescue him before Robotnik could roboticize him, or… she didn't want to think any further along those lines.

Robotnik's troops wouldn't be hunting for life-forms now, but she still had to be careful. She kept out of sight, moving through the trees swiftly and silently as their instructor had taught her and her brothers long ago when they had first became the Sonic Underground. Her feet didn't touch the ground until she made it closer to Robotnik's encampment.

She stopped just before the tight circle of robots that surrounded the clearing outside the ancient temple. Sonia scanned the area for any sign of the Guardian. There were a number of transport vehicles stationed nearby. One of them she recognized immediately, Sleet and Dingo's scorpion ship. It was as good a place to start as any, if she could just get past the perimeter. She would need a distraction.

Retreating into the forest, she called forth her keyboard weapon, materializing from the medallion into her waiting arms. She set the laser and fired a series of shots, raining down branches full of coconuts. The cascading noise drew the attention of the nearby bots who rushed to the area, leaving Sonia to swing down and dart across to the Scorpian ship. She was halfway up the open gangplank as they returned to their positions.

Poking her head around the corner, she glanced back and forth. The main cargo area was empty, no bots in sight, and so sign of Sleet or Dingo. She stepped further in, holding steadily to her weapon. A noise made her turn, someone was coming! She dove on the other side of one of the large control consoles, her back to the wall.

"For the last time Dingo, you can't drive."

"Ah but Sleet, I've been practicing."

"When are you going to learn that no means no?"

"You mean it doesn't mean no?"

Sleet slapped his forehead. "Nevermind, I'm wasting my breath talking to you."

"I call shotgun then!" He raced past Sleet, knocking him over with his massive bulk and scrambling up the metal stairs to the cockpit like a kid going to the amusement park.

Sleet growled but didn't reply. He followed quickly behind his excited cohort, perhaps wanting to make sure that Dingo didn't push any wrong buttons. The thought would have brought a smile to Sonia's face except that she was riding in the ship with them and didn't want to be blown to smithereens today, thank you very much.

A few moments later they were up in the air and Sonia swallowed. There wasn't much she could do about it now. She was along for the ride wherever they were headed.

Surprisingly, they weren't up in the air for very long, landing a few minutes later. Sonia didn't have a window to look out, but she had a pretty fair idea of where they were. Probably on Robonik's new battleship.

"Oh boy," she said quietly, "Sonia, you've really gotten yourself in a pickle this time." She held tighter to her keyboard. Her face shifted into a scowl, "But I won't give up. I'll rescue Knuckles and … then I'll figure out what comes after that," she said, her bravado decreasing. "Oh Sonic, Manic, I'm sorry. We should have come here together." She should have never said the things she did. Of course her brothers cared. Knuckles was one of their closest friends. This has to be Robotnik's doing. The more she thought about it, the more it made sense. He was attacking what they cared about most. She had to find them, but for now she had to worry about getting out of this place with Knuckles. If he was even here.

Sonia waited until Sleet and Dingo had left the Scorpian before emerging. She carefully opened the top hatch on the vehicle and peered around. They had landed in some kind of enclosed hanger underneath the launching platform. Most of the forces had to have been deployed on the island since this shuttle bay was practically empty. She could see a couple patrolling bots, but that was it. Maybe this wouldn't be as hard as she thought? She slid down the side of the vehicle, landing carefully on her feet, her gymnastic moves ingrained since her childhood when she used to leap off any tall structure she could find in Lady Windemere's mansion. The thought brought a melancholy smile to her face.

She kept to the shadows, sneaking as quietly as her boots would allow, pausing for what seemed like minutes around each corner, just in case. So far no one had detected her presence, and she wanted to keep it that way.

All the hallways looked alike, flanked by a tangle of pipes, a few wires exposed here and there. The whole place was sloppily designed in her opinion. Of course this was because she had at least had a sense for color and design, unlike some evil geniuses whose idea of a fashion show was a "What not to wear on your Roboticization Day."

Her boots echoed on the metal stairs as she traveled deeper into its core. If Manic were here, she started to think but then frowned again. He's not here, so you have to find your own way through, she reminded herself. A few bots stood guard outside a hallway. It had to be something interesting, so she leaned over the railing and aimed carefully.

The shot made the robot's head explode in a series of sparks, the other two instinctively firing ahead where the shot came from. Sonia was already down the stairs and charging them. Kicking one with a swift roundhouse as she turned and shot the other one in the chest. They all three fell down in a pile as her medallion glowed and her keyboard disappeared in a pink light.

She carefully stepped over them and rushed down the hallway, hoping she had found something worth the risk of alerting more guards to her intrusion.

* * *

When his pain returned in full force, Knuckles became conscious. His cheek was numb pressed against the cold metal floor. As he struggled to sit up, his muscles rebelled, making him flinch. He would be sore for the next few days. His wrists were bound together with a metallic restraint, making it difficult to get up. His feet were free though, and with a few shoves he backed himself up against the wall and sat up. He tried to look down at the restraint but it was too dark in his cell to see much.

"Knuckles! Are you alright?"

"Sonia?" He turned and found her kneeling outside his cell. She was looking up and down the hallway. "Where am I?"

"Shh!" She motioned, smiling at him. "You're on Robotnik's battleship."

If Sonia was here, that meant Sonic and Manic were with her. But where were they? Had they split up to try and find him? No matter, he was just glad to see a friendly face.

"I'm sorry I got you guys involved in this."

She laughed and he smiled. "Don't worry about it. After all, we've been in worse scrapes than this." She was right about that.

"Where's Sonic and Manic?"

She hesitated.

"Are they alright? What's wrong?"

"I really don't want to talk about it right now."

Did she mean she didn't want to talk to him about it? Knuckles looked away. Perhaps he was poking too much into a personal matter. Social skills weren't a necessity on the Floating Island after all.

Sonia added quickly, "Let's get you out of here."

"How?"

She smirked, "You're not the only one with muscles, you know."

Sonia grabbed onto the bars and took a deep breath. Knuckles saw the concentration in her expression. Although she had seemed cheerful he could tell this wasn't something she did all the time. For both their sakes, he silently wished her luck.

She cried out as she began to pull at the bars. Her whole body shook for a moment, and then, slowly she bent the bars outwards, letting go before she sandwiched her fingers against the other bars. She shook out her hands as she took a deep breath. That had obviously taken a lot out of her, but she had done it. When she looked back at him again, she had a smile on her face, very similar to Sonic's in a way, and yet very much her own. Unlike her brother, the prideful look quickly faded as she rushed inside to tend to him.

"Let's see." She bent down just behind him as he scooted forward to give her room. He could feel her hands touching his own, poking at the device. He hoped she didn't notice the slight blush on his cheeks. He shifted uncomfortably as she tried to pry them apart.

"Drat! Sorry Knuckles. Manic could…" She trailed off before she could finish. "Let me try my keyboard."

She touched her medallion, hoping it would give her enough power for one good shot. It glowed but then sparked out.

"What's wrong?"

"It needs to recharge. We'll have to think of something else."

"I can walk if you can help me up. This thing is heavy."

"Oh! Of course." Between the both of them he was standing upright, although he had to lean due to the extra weight. He grimaced. It was better than being stuck in the cell. She had to help him squeeze through the opening because the restraints got stuck.

"So what now?" He asked as soon as she maneuvered him out. He wasn't trying to be snippy but he knew he sounded that way. He was just frustrated.

"Uh, yeah, about that. I hadn't exactly… thought of a way out of here yet." She grinned.

Knuckles sighed.

"We'll think of something though. C'mon."

Knuckles hesitated for a moment and then followed behind her, keeping his senses alert for danger. The fact that she had gotten in here so easily bothered him, but what worried him more was that she was hiding something about Sonic and Manic. Right now he just wanted to escape. He'd ask her later, if they got out of here. He figured that wouldn't be easy.

He was right, especially because they weren't over the Floating Island anymore. The battleship soared over the ocean towards the mainland. It's new destination: Robotropolis.


	9. For the Good of All

**Chapter Nine: For the Good of All**

Sonic's head throbbed as soon as he awoke. He tried to drift back into the blackness but it slipped out of his grasp. His friends' voices were loud in his ears as well, summoning him back to reality. He really didn't feel like it right now, but he supposed he wouldn't get back to sleep any time soon. He opened his eyes to find Trevor, Cyrus and four of his other friends standing over him.

"Anyone got an aspirin?"

Deafening cheers answered his inquiry. On second thought, they weren't that loud, but it only seemed like they were with his migraine.

"Okay guys, give him space." Cyrus, you're always the reasonable one, Sonic thought.

Everyone else left, wishing Sonic well, but Trevor lingered behind, reaching a hand out to him. Sonic grasped it tightly.

"Quit saving my life. Now I owe you another chilidog."

Sonic chuckled a bit, the pain from the headache ebbing briefly, giving him a clear moment to think about the friends he had almost lost. And then the ones he had lost. That made him wish for the headache back. He didn't want to think about it. Thinking about it hurt too much in another way.

"Right now I just want my aspirin, bud."

Cyrus obliged him, dropping a tablet into his open palm and handing him a glass of water. Trevor helped him sit up as he took the pill, gulping down the water. He hadn't realized how thirsty he was, or how hungry come to think of it. Trevor just had to mention his favorite food, didn't he?

"Besides the headache, how are you feeling?" Cyrus asked.

"Not good. Definitely not good. We lost— "

Cyrus frowned. "Hold it right there. If you're feeling guilty about Specs and the others, then don't say another word."

"But—"

"Sonic, it's not your fault. Besides, none of us would be here right now if it wasn't for you."

Sonic remained silent, and for a long while Trevor and Cyrus stood there watching him. For the first time in a long while, Sonic didn't have anything to say to his best friends. Usually he would have laughed off his fear and worry. If he did laugh right now, he would probably scare himself with how he sounded. There was more than just the failed rescue mission, there was the Underground itself. How could he tell them? How could he admit he had failed his own family as well?

He didn't know he was crying until Trevor and Cyrus sat next to him. Trevor offered him a tissue. Sonic's cheeks turned bright red and he stared down, tears splashing on his legs. He refused the tissue, even though his nose was running a little as well. He sniffed sharply, holding in a shudder. He couldn't break down. Not here.

"You don't have to act strong in front of us," Trevor said.

Cyrus's hand rested on his shoulder. Sonic couldn't bear to look at him. "We've seen you stressing out, but we, well, we didn't know what to do. "

"We shoulda talked to you sooner. You haven't been yourself lately."

Sonic smirked through another tear. Couldn't hide it forever, he thought to himself and laughed a little. That loosened the dam of his emotions and more tears fell. All his usual bravado melted away. Everything he had been holding in just drained out.

Neither of his friends said a word. They put an arm around him as Sonic silently wept. When he had finished Trevor offered him a tissue, but Sonic chuckled nervously and swiped the whole box with a mumbled thanks. All of them chuckled a little. Sonic had to offer them a couple tissues as well. There were many fistfuls in the trash when they finally stood up. At last Sonic's headache was subsiding.

"You're not alone," Cyrus said.

"But you gotta talk to us or we can't help you," Trevor said.

"In that case, you asked for it," Sonic said, "Cause the Sonic Underground is history."

"Not funny, Sonic," Cyrus said.

"Yeah, don't joke about that," Trevor said.

"I'm not joking. We broke up."

The look on their faces changed dramatically. At first they just looked at each other, but then they stared back at Sonic again.

"Why? What happened? Are they okay?" Too many questions. Not enough answers.

Sonic could feel another wave of guilt coming on and a strong urge to run as far away from there as possible. Although, he knew he couldn't run away from this forever. He had to face it sooner or later. Might as well be now.

"We had a fight, some things were said, and we split. That's all."

"Where did they go?"

"I guess Sonia went to the Floating Island and Manic went to some place called Sewer Central – Robotnik was attacking both of those places too."

"Hmm… Sounds to me like he was trying to spread you guys too thin," Cyrus said.

Sonic slapped his forehead. How could he have not seen that? He might have, but he was too busy thinking of his friends and saving the day. They had all been distracted. Hadn't Robotnik known just where to hit each of them too? This wasn't good.

"It worked alright. Man, why didn't I see that?"

"Don't blame yourself," Cyrus said.

"Yeah, you guys have been under a lot of stress lately," Trevor said.

"Yeah but I… I shouldn't have pushed them away. What if something happened to them?"

"Don't worry about what might happen, that just wastes time. Let's find them," Trevor said.

"I only have time to track down one of them."

"That's only if there's one of you."

"Whaddya mean Cyrus?"

"Like I said, you're not alone. We're here to help."

Trevor grinned at Cyrus. "I think I know what Sonic needs. You ready Cyrus?" He pulled a harmonica out of his pocket.

Cyrus grimaced. "Now? Do I have to?"

"You owe me for those parts I got you."

"Fine. Sorry in advance, Sonic," Cyrus said.

Then the strangest thing happened. Instead of Sonic singing for his friends, his friends sang for him. Sonic sat back in awe. He had never even heard them so much as practice, but didn't it make sense that his friends who fought so hard to bring music and hope to the people of Mobius would want to give it a try themselves? Sonic didn't know what to say, so he sat back and listened.

He smirked a little. Cyrus was a little off-key, but he was really into the words. Trevor played a mean harmonica too.

It might not seem like much to you, Dear Reader, but their song touched Sonic's heart. These words imprinted on his heart and he never forgot that moment:

_I've seen you looking down._

_I've heard you crying in the night._

_I've felt your breaking heart,_

_But there is hope in sight!_

_Cause when you've got friends,_

_You're never alone._

Without warning, the door opened and the other Resistance members peeked inside. They had heard the singing and came to investigate. Before long there was an entire chorus joining in. They surrounded Sonic, some crashing next to him, others leaning in, but every face was smiling and every voice was singing. Together their a capella echoed within the depths of the Resistance strong hold.

This is real magic, Sonic thought.

_This fight is our fight,_

_Let us stand beside you._

_This hope is our hope_

_Let our love inside you._

_This song is our song_

_Let our music guide you.  
_

_Cause when you've got friends,_

_You're never alone._

_As long as we're together, _

_We will stand (Stand with me)_

_We will hope (Hope with me)_

_We will sing (Sing with me)_

"_I'm not alone," _Sonic finished.

The room erupted into cheers as Sonic joined in. This time Sonic didn't mind. In fact, he felt better than he had in a long while. Within moments a wall of solidarity had been built between all of them. They exchanged hugs and laughter. Love sprang deep from their hearts.

"Thanks guys. You're the best."

"Don't forget," Trevor said and he and Sonic shook on it.

"Alright team, we gotta move fast. Sonia and Manic are out there somewhere. So we gotta split up and find them before Robotnik does. Let's go!"

More cheers erupted. Sonic continued speaking over them, "Trevor, you take a group to the Sewers to look for Manic." Sonic turned to two turtles, "Timmy & Tommy, you guys take a group downtown and find out what Robotnik's up to. Everybody else is with my group. Cyrus, I'll need your help flying a ship to the Floating Island." The groups began to split up.

"Hey everybody! Take your communicators and keep in contact. Soon as you find something, let the others know. Everybody in?"

This signal was well-known to the Resistance. Each person scrambled forward and put a hand into their circle. When they couldn't fit they passed arms between each other and some formed an outer circle. Sonic smiled at all of them. "We got this."

"Freedom fighters forever!" They threw up their hands into the air, leaping off their feet. A moment later they dispersed with excited chatter, grabbing gear on their way out.

Sonic was the last one in the hideout and switched out the lights. He lingered in the doorway a moment longer, staring at the dark interior of the Resistance stronghold. Here he had always felt safe and at home. It didn't have much, but it did have a lot of love. Sometimes that's all you need.

"C'mon Sonic!" Cyrus called.

Sonic slammed the door shut, activating a keypad next to it. He pressed a couple buttons with practiced ease. A graffiti-covered panel slid down over the entrance as he ran to catch up with Cyrus and the others.


	10. A Mother's Love

**Chapter Ten: A Mother's Love**

Manic twisted against the robots escorting him to Robotnik's chambers. He dug in his heels, but they only wetly squealed against the cold metal floor as they dragged him onward, dripping a trail of sewer water behind them as they continued forward. The SWATbots carrying him finally hefted him just far enough off the floor that he could no longer touch even with his toes extended. That didn't stop him from trying to get free anyway, kicking against them. When that didn't work, and his feet stung from striking the heavy metal plating, he sighed heavily, letting his legs dangle. Might as well save my strength, he thought. Save it for what, he wasn't sure; he was practically dead now. Robotnik would probably have a long, boring speech prepared, and then he'd be unceremoniously roboticized. Game over, Manic. Game over, Sonic Underground.

Alternate versions played themselves out in his mind. One ended with him breaking free, sneaking into the main control room and blowing up the entire facility with everything inside it. In another more gruesome fantasy he took his own life before he could turn into a mindless robotic slave within the confines of the glass chamber of the Roboticizer. Manic couldn't stop these horrible thoughts from tumbling one after another into his mind.

He had never felt so ashamed. It was a simple mistake, but one he wouldn't give himself a break for. If only he had kept checking the manholes! Another thought entered his mind though. At least he saved his childhood home – and probably most of the city too. No one could last very long without clean water, after all. Knowing that made him feel a little better, but, then again, what was to stop Robotnik from just rebuilding another cleaner in its place? A familiar feeling of hopelessness crept around him, threatening to smother him in sorrow.

He was thrust down before he realized they had arrived, metallic hands forcing his head down, doubling over onto his knees into a bowing position. They stung against the cold metal floor and he winced. Before him stood the large platform where Dr. Robotnik orchestrated all of his evil deeds. The armored chair swiveled around, gears grinding. Manic avoided looking up at him. He had a good idea what his face would look like right now. He'd be grinning, of course. He didn't want to see it.

"Well, well, I see at least one of my traps has come to bear fruit."

"So about that promotion…" Mr. Fancy Pants the rat strode forward and gave a flowery bow to Robotnik.

"Promotion? I should roboticize you just for letting this brat destroy my beautiful invention!"

"But-but, I brought you the Prince, my-!"

"This is only one of Aleena's brats, you fool. I need all of them!" His fist banged against the chair loudly. But Manic heard him mumble, "There could still be a chance."

Was that a hint of fright he heard in Robotnik's voice? What did he have to be afraid of? Was he seriously afraid of the Prophecy? Manic had never considered the possibility that Robotnik was afraid of anything.

A couple of monotonous tones buzzed, interrupting Robotnik's muttering. The motors rumbled under his immense weight as his throne rotated, a view-screen switching on with the touch of a large button on his metallic throne.

Manic twisted his head to peek up at the monitors. The picture fuzzed before focusing on a SWATbot battalion in the middle of what looked to be a tropical forest. One black robot stood tall in front of the others, giving Robotnik a firm salute.

"I trust you have something good to report, Captain?"

"Sir, we have traced the subject's movements to the Temple. Possible containment at ninety-five percent."

"Excellent!"

"Proceed with apprehension?"

"No!" He snapped, but then laughed and leaned forward, pressing a few more buttons on his chair console, continuing to speak, "No, no need, Captain. I'll be taking over command of this mission. Switch all channels to fifteen and wait for further instructions."

"Affirmative."

Manic scanned the other screens carefully. All of them suddenly switched back to a series of security cameras randomly displaying different angles around Robotnik's compound. What Robotnik didn't notice was a small hover-unit that shouldn't have been on patrol in the lower sector. It disappeared into the shadows.

Manic saw the hover unit though, and he knew enough about the security drones that patrolled around the main compound to know it was out of place, which could only mean one thing: something organic was driving it.

It certainly wasn't Sonic. He couldn't pilot anything stealthily to save his life. Besides, Sonic was probably at the main Roboticizer Station downtown. It was just a few blocks away, but even Sonic wasn't that fast. And who knew where Sonia was, probably heading for the Floating Island. Miles away, at best, if she wasn't there. Who was it then? At the moment, he had more important things to worry about.

Robotnik waved his hand dismissively in Manic's direction without even turning to face him.

"Take him to the Roboticizer."

He chuckled, shifting more comfortably into his chair. "I'll deal with him as soon as I've taken care of the Guardian."

Manic thrashed in their grip, but they only tightened, making him wince. It felt like someone was trying to take his blood pressure on both arms at once, making him seize up. As soon as he stopped struggling, they relaxed their grip, and again he was left dangling between them. He tried to think of a snappy comeback for Robotnik, but that was Sonic's territory, not his. He could see Sonic breaking free, taunting Robotnik, and the thought nearly brought a smile to his face, until reality set back in, and they dragged him down the darkened corridors.

Who was he kidding? No one even knew he was here. And once the Roboticizer warmed up, he would be gone. He saw Sonia clearly in his mind, crying out upon seeing his metallic features, reaching out a hand to him. Sonic holding her back, but even his eyes full of horror at seeing their brother's fate. No matter what he did, Manic couldn't stop thinking about it. He began to shake, his breaths coming too quickly. It couldn't end like this.

It just couldn't!

* * *

None of the security units patrolling Robotnik's compound paid any attention to the battered hover-unit as it drifted inside the empty hanger. The battleship had taken nearly all of Robotnik's troops to the Floating Island and the rest were stationed inside the Industrial Roboticizer building, leaving behind a skeleton crew to protect Robotnik's main compound.

The hatch creaked open, a cloaked figure moving swiftly into the shadows as a security drone drifted past. The figure waited a few moments more before pulling out a laser rifle and melting the lock on the door. The figure rammed against it a few times until it swung open, tucking the rifle close before ducking inside the corridor. The way was clear, so the figure dashed, the hood flying back to reveal long purple quills. The figure never stopped running.

* * *

Manic ducked as the glass cylinder slammed down around him. His heart beat faster, his hands shaking. He bent down and tried to break off the shackles holding his feet in place, but without his thief tools, he couldn't break them apart. His fanny pack was empty; they didn't even leave his drumsticks. He missed them even more than the tools. At least it would have given him something to do so he could stop shaking. His breath sounded even shallower trapped inside the tall chamber of the Roboticizer.

Would he suffocate before he was roboticized? He banged his fists against the cold glass, crying out. It didn't give an inch, his fingers stinging from the pain. His heart pounded in his ears as he pressed his palms flat against it, shoving and pushing any way he could think to go. At last his fingers slid down and he leaned forward, pressing his forehead against the cold glass. His breath condensed heavily on the glass.

How had things gone so badly so quickly? Just hours ago he was playing to a cheering crowd. Had his life always been this fragile? Had they just been lucky all the times before?

Manic didn't know what to think anymore. All he could think about was what would happen when the machine started up. Would it hurt? Would he remember anything? Worse, would he be aware but unable to do anything, forced to follow Robotnik's every command? He closed his eyes, fighting back tears.

He would fight it, of course he would, but the logical part of him knew no one could resist Robotnik's programming for long. Even Argus, Queen Aleena's Captain of the Royal Guard, had only been able to resist for moments before reverting to an obedient servant. Everyone always turned back. Prince or pauper, it doesn't matter; the Roboticizer doesn't discriminate.

A bright flash caught his attention and he straightened up to see columns of smoke and sparks rising from the Roboticizer's control panel just a few feet away. Through the thick smoke, a figure approached him.

Queen Aleena dropped her laser rifle and rushed to the glass cylinder, placing her palms against the surface. Manic could only look into her eyes, which were wide and full of tears. A soft heat rose in his chest as hot tears blurred his vision. He tried to speak, but he sounded more like a squawking parrot. He banged his fists against the glass regardless of the pain, willing himself to break through to her.

Close! They were so close, and yet, she might as well have been miles away. He hurriedly wiped his tears to make sure he wasn't hallucinating. But no, there she was, her lips moving. He strained to hear. He called out to her, but within moments he discovered he couldn't hear her and she couldn't hear him. More tears fell.

They locked eyes with each other. Her mouth moved slowly. He couldn't hear her, but he knew what she said. "I love you."

"I love you too, Ma," Manic said, his voice cracking.

He moved his hands, toward hers, opening his palms and spreading his fingers to match hers. Her fingers were much smaller, longer, elegant, enclosed in gloves that were worn and torn at her fingertips.

Although he had seen his mother a number of times, this was the closest he had ever been to her, and this was the longest he ever had to gaze at her features. Her eyes, they were so familiar. It was then that he realized they were just like Sonic's, but her smile – her smile was definitely like Sonia's. Do I look like her too, he wondered. He hoped so, because her face was so full of kindness. He only wished he could hug her, and feel her arms wrapped around him.

She pulled away from the glass and he cried out to her, "Don't leave me!"

For a moment longer she lingered. They stared again. Who knew if he would ever see her again? He wanted to remember everything about her. He never wanted to forget, even if he was roboticized, he would at least have this. That would be enough. Another tear fell as she blew him a kiss into her fingertips and pressed it against the glass. He could almost feel it touch his cheek. He blushed, unsure how to react to such a kind gesture.

He was about to try to say something more when her head turned away from him. She stiffened and then ran.

"Mom!" He shouted again, banging on the glass, "Don't go! Please!" He sounded so young, like any of the orphaned kids at Sanctuary. It frightened him even more to hear himself sound like that.

But she had left, vanishing as quickly as she had arrived, back into the billowing smoke. His fist rapped against it once more as he slumped forward, leaning against the glass. "Mom…"

A metallic hand rapped against his glass prison. A high-pitched whine burned at his ears. For a few moments he had trouble hearing anything. Manic opened his eyes again to see Robotnik flailing about, gesturing to the broken machine and then to the SWATbots standing nearby. He couldn't hear what Robotnik was saying, but he had a pretty good idea. He sighed. For the moment, the Roboticizer was out of commission, but he was still stuck in it.

The glass cylinder slid upwards. Manic's ears were still ringing as Robotnik grabbed him by his vest and shook him, the ankle restraints thankfully holding him down so he couldn't throw him. Slowly, he could understand the words being shouted at him. "… don't know how you pulled that off, but it won't happen again!"

Manic grimaced. Robotnik's sulfurous breath was fouler than anything he was actually saying. Thankfully, Robotnik hadn't seen Queen Aleena. He thought Manic had tampered with the Roboticizer. Manic felt a little guilty that he had nearly caused his mother to get caught, but he had only wanted to see her for a little longer. It was hard enough the way things were, but to be so close… That hurt him more than he would admit.

An alarm blared, breaking his concentration.

"What now!?" Robotnik roared, releasing Manic and stomping back towards his command room. "Guard the door, make sure he doesn't escape!"

The SWATbots followed Robotnik out, and Manic heard the door locking behind them. At least he wasn't in danger of being Roboticized, at the moment, his mother had made sure of that, but who knew how long it would be before Robotnik would find a replacement roboticizer and stuff him into that one? It wasn't like there was a shortage of them in Robotropolis.

A figure leapt down from the rafters, landing nimbly. Queen Aleena stood tall and smiled at her bewildered son. She put a finger to her lips before he could shout to her.

"Manic," the Queen whispered.

Manic held his arms out to her, but she shook her head.

"I have tempted Fate enough by coming here. I just wanted you to know that I love you so much."

His vision clouded over again. "W-what if I never see you again?"

"One day we will be together once more."

He couldn't stop the tears. He could barely see through them. "You don't know that!" Yet, when he looked at her, she was smiling so brightly. "How can you be so sure?"

She sang to him softly,

_Love will win._

_This I promise you,_

_Even when the road is tough,_

_Love will see you through._

_It's hard to see the sun when it's always raining._

_But don't you give up hope, _

_My Darling, don't you know,_

_It's always darkest before the light of dawn?_

_Some things you only know_

_Because your heart tells you so,_

_In mine I hear these words _

_No matter what,_

_Love will win._

She stepped closer and pressed her hand against his cheek. He placed his hands onto hers, his tears staining her glove.

_In the end,_

_Love will win._

Manic wiped his eyes again. He had no more words.

"I cannot stay," Aleena said, "But I have something to give you. You must promise to share it with Sonic and Sonia."

Manic's eyes widened when she pulled out a hastily wrapped newspaper package. She handed it to him and he eagerly ripped it apart. Inside was a velvet drawstring bag, lined with a reflective material. It was warm to the touch. He opened the pouch and poured out into his hands a warm, recently baked chocolate chip cookie, the chocolate bits staining his gloved fingers. Real chocolate! Such delicacies were rarities outside of the aristocracy and Robotnik's personal stashes of food. It must have cost her a small fortune to buy the ingredients off the street. And to even try to buy them at all when she was most wanted in the kingdom and on top of that to bake them and hand-deliver them herself. These were a most rich present, indeed.

"Mom, I…" but when he looked up she was climbing into an air duct.

"Your pleas have not gone unheard, Manic. I love you so much. Take care of your brother and your sister."

"I will," he replied as she disappeared once more.

This time, she did not return.

Manic wiped his eyes and hurriedly stuffed the cookies into his fanny pack and munched on the cookie in his hand. He licked his lips and then his fingertips. It tasted even better than it looked. For one moment, he forgot about Robotnik and the Roboticizer and Robotropolis in general.

For just one moment, Manic was home.


End file.
